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Dementia Research Centre

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Why Are We Doing this Study?

Why Are We Doing this Study? In order to understand Alzheimer’s disease and the impact it has on the brain, it is necessary to gain a deeper insight into how the disease changes the microstructure of the brain. To date, this can only be done by using invasive methods or post-mortem studies. 

However, new ultra-high resolution MRI scanners and methods produce much more detailed and higher quality images which are able to pick up the subtle changes diseases cause in the brain. These new scanners and methods promise exciting new possibilities in the way we diagnose and treat diseases, meaning they could not only transform clinical research but also patient care.

We expect that using ultra-high resolution MRI scanners and methods will allow researchers now, and clinicians in the future, to see brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease without using invasive methods. This opens up the possibility to see disease-related changes earlier than previously possible, study how these changes differ in different forms of Alzheimer’s disease and ultimately decrease the burden on the patients.​

Who Will Be Invited to Take Part in the Study? We are inviting people with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and Posterior Cortical Atrophy, as well as people who do not have a diagnosis of dementia. 

What are the Main Aims of the Study? We will be using two different MRI scanners for this study, a 3 Tesla (3T) MRI, routinely used in clinical imaging, and a ultra-high resolution 7 Tesla (7T) MRI to study the following three main aims: ​

  1. Can we see subtle Alzheimer's disease related brain changes by using a 7T MRI scanner without the need for more invasive methods? 

  2. How do these brain changes differ between Alzheimer’s disease and Posterior Cortical Atrophy?

  3. What is the relationship between these brain changes and changes in thinking, memory and visual skills?