Edinburgh Imaging

03 Oct 18. CHARIOT PRO study progress

Recruitment and screening for the CHARIOT PRO study, which assesses protein plaque changes in the brain in relation to dementia, is now complete in Edinburgh.

The Chariot Pro study team, led by Professor Craig Ritchie at the Centre for Dementia Prevention, consists of a dynamic group of research psychologists, coordinators, radiographers, nurses and doctors aiming to investigate the impact of amyloid beta protein on cognitive performance in otherwise healthy older adults over a 42 month period.

The study is conducted at University of Edinburgh and Imperial College London, and is sponsored by Janssen Research & Development, LLC, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson.

CHARIOT PRO is an ongoing study that is trying to understand the relationship between amyloid beta protein plaques found in the brain and the development of Alzheimer’s disease dementia.  For the individual, dementia results in a progressive and devastating loss of memory, orientation, language, and personality.

Amyloid plaques are found in the brain of those with Alzheimer’s dementia but it is unclear if this happens later in the disease, when dementia is clinically present, or if the presence of amyloid plaques predates the onset of dementia.

Recruitment and screening for the CHARIOT PRO study has now finished in Edinburgh. After two years of recruitment at the Edinburgh site, working closely with colleagues at Edinburgh Imaging Facilities, in particular their radiographers and Prof Adam Waldman, we have successfully scanned over 200 participants, on the Siemens 3T Prisma MR scanner at the Edinburgh Imaging facility RIE.

One of the most common techniques for detecting amyloid in the brain is positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. CHARIOT PRO uses this technique to identify participants at risk of developing dementia, using the Siemens Biograph mCT scanner at the Edinburgh Imaging facility QMRI.

We also use a retinal imaging technique, validated with PET imaging, in order to help develop this method as a less invasive tool for brain amyloid detection.

Participant feedback on the study and brain imaging has been positive. To read their current update please read their full article, here. 

The full findings will be published on the Centre for Dementia Prevention website and will provide high quality data that may inform future study design and potential intervention strategies.

For more information about the study, please contact the team at CHARIOT-PRO@ed.ac.uk