AD/ADRD Resources

§ Data / samples from an additional ~100 cases collected under an identical protocol are also available from collaborators at Houston Methodist.
* In Process

 Acronym Definitions:

• AD: Alzheimer's disease
• PD: Parkinson's disease
• LBD: Lewy body dementia
• MCI: mild cognitive impairment
• NCI: no cognitive impairment
• PBMC: peripheral blood mononuclear cells 

Goal: To understand the factors responsible for individual differences in Alzheimer's disease and other causes of dementia and to develop more personalized diagnoses and therapies.

Inclusion Criteria: Participants include adults without known cognitive impairment (NCI), as well as those with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), AD, or with other AD-related dementias, including LBD.

Subjects are recruited from outpatient clinics at BCM and at BCM affiliates, including the Michael Debakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Harris Health system. Participants are also identified through community outreach and engagement.

Data and Biospecimens: Baseline assessments include demographics, neurological examination, and neuropsychological testing, conforming to the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center Uniform Dataset. All subjects provide blood for whole genome sequencing and plasma metabolomics. Plasma and cryopreserved PBMCs are also available. A subset of subjects also have neuroimaging, including brain MRI and amyloid PET Scan (individuals with positive amyloid scans also receive tau PET scans). Participants have the opportunity to receive results from their clinical examination, neuroimaging, genetic testing, and pre- and post-surveys assess expectations and impact of disclosure.

Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases (CAND) ADPD

Goal: To explore how metabolic markers can enhance the discovery of rare genetic variant risk and modifying factors in AD and PD.

Inclusion Criteria: Patients seeking care for AD, MCI, or PD at BCM neurology specialty clinics. Controls are spouses or unrelated caregivers without known AD, PD or related symptoms.

Data and Biospeciments: Clinical dataset includes diagnosis, age at onset, and race & ethnicity. Neuropsychologic testing available for those with AD and MCI. Whole genome sequencing and plasma metabolomics are available for all enrolled subjects.

Risk and Progression in Parkinson's Disease (RAPPID)

Goal: To identify genetic and other factors that influence PD risk, progression, and heterogeneous motor / non-motor manifestations.

Inclusion Criteria: Individuals with PD from the BCM Parkinson's Disease Center and Movement Disorder Clinic.

Data and Biospeciments: Evaluations include subject demographics, Movement Disorders Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), and quantitative motor performance data from a wearable biosensor device. Exome or whole genome sequencing and genomewide genotyping are available for all enrolled subjects, and plasma metabolomics is available for a subset.

Human Neuropathology Core and Brain Bank

The BCM-CAND human neuropathology core is led by Dr. Matthew Torre, M.D. We have partnered with the Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases and UT Health San Antonio to enable access to frozen, fixed, and paraffin-embedded samples of postmortem brain tissue from over 360 individuals for collaborative research. Cases include AD, Lewy body disease (PD and LBD), as well as neurologically healthy controls. All samples in the Biorepository have associated diagnostic neuropathology reports, including clinical and pathologic diagnoses.

For questions about available brain tissue specimens and data, please contact Dr. Matthew Torre.

iPSC Models of Neurodegeneration

We are building a repository of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines reprogrammed from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), predominantly obtained from the Precision Medicine for Alzheimer’s and related dementias (PMC) cohort. The repository currently includes 13 donor-derived lines, spanning Alzheimer’s disease (n = 4), mild cognitive impairment (n = 2), Parkinson’s disease (n = 3), and neurologically healthy controls (n = 4). Donors range from 44–84 years at enrollment and include both sexes (8 female, 4 male), and are representative of Houston’s diverse demographics (Hispanic/Latino, European White, African American/Black, and Asian). We have also selected cases based on biomarker-confirmed disease (i.e., amyloid PET neuroimaging, and/or blood phospo-tau), co-pathology (AD + PD / cerebrovascular disease), and heterogeneous genetic drivers (APOE, AD polygenic risk). We welcome nominations for reprogramming additional lines based on specific clinical criteria or molecular features.