Grant: Catalyst Grant: Secondary Analysis of Neuroimaging Databases

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a brain illness that is becoming more common as the population ages. In about half of patients, false beliefs, referred to as delusions, may develop. These symptoms are often associated with negative outcomes, such as increased aggression, more rapid functional decline, and premature placement in a long term care facility. In spite of being common, it is unclear why these symptoms arise and what part of the brain is involved. Based on preliminary data from analysis of the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database, a large North American database that holds clinical and imaging data on patients with AD, we were able to conclude that reduced grey matter in the right frontal lobe of the brain may be associated with the development of delusions. However, it remains unclear as to whether these findings also occur in other types of dementia (such as Parkinson's dementia and vascular dementia), or in patients with more severe dementia, and how these findings relate to brain tissue changes at autopsy. This study proposes to examine structural brain changes in a sample of Alzheimer and related dementia patients with and without delusions matched for age, education, type of dementia, and disease severity using the National Alzheimer's Co-ordinating Centre (NACC) database. The NACC database, compared to ADNI, includes patients with other types of dementia diagnoses, a broader range of disease severity, and neuropathology. We hope the findings from this study will validate our previous findings and ultimately be used to develop effective treatments for AD patients with delusions by identifying a target in the brain for treatment.