Enabling a multidisciplinary approach to the study of ageing and Alzheimer's disease: An update from the Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study

Abstract

The Australian Imaging Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study is a longitudinal study of 1,112 volunteers from healthy, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) populations who are assessed at 18-month intervals in order to enable prospective research into ageing and AD. Using a multidisciplinary battery, AIBL assessments comprise the extensive study of clinical factors and cognitive function, collection of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples for biomarker discovery, structural and β-amyloid (Aβ) neuroimaging, and obtaining information on diet and physical activity patterns of the cohort. Now in its seventh year, AIBL is part of a substantial international effort to prospectively study the relationships between clinical characteristics and putative AD biomarkers in groups who carry different risk factors for AD. The identification of biomarkers would provide a window of opportunity to assess AD risk in individuals prior to the onset of advanced clinical symptoms, in addition to facilitating testing of therapeutic and lifestyle interventions likely to emerge within the next decade that prevent or delay symptom emergence in those at high risk for developing AD. In this paper, we present key findings from the AIBL study and discuss how they contribute to our understanding of AD pathogenesis and diagnosis.

Acknowledgements

The AIBL team wishes to thank the following clinicians who referred patients with AD and/or MCI to the study: David Ames, Brian Chambers, Edmond Chiu, Roger Clarnette, David Darby, Mary Davison, John Drago, Peter Drysdale, Jacqui Gilbert, Kwang Lim, Nicola Lautenschlager, Dina LoGiudice, Peter McCardle, Steve McFarlane, Alastair Mander, John Merory, Daniel O’Connor, Christopher Rowe, Ron Scholes, Mathew Samuel, Darshan Trivedi, and Michael Woodward. AIBL is a large collaborative study and a list of AIBL study contributors can be found at our website www.aibl.csiro.au. We thank Alzheimer's Australia (Victoria and Western Australia) for assistance with promotion of the study and screening of telephone calls from volunteers. We also thank all those who took part as participants in the study for their commitment and dedication to helping advance research into the early detection and causation of AD.

Declaration of interest: Funding for the study was provided in part by the study partners (Australian Commonwealth Scientific Industrial and research Organization (CSIRO), Edith Cowan University (ECU), Mental Health Research institute (MHRI), Alzheimer's Australia Vic (AA), National Ageing Research Institute (NARI), University of Melbourne, Austin Health, CogState, Hollywood Private Hospital, Sir Charles Gardner Hospital). The study also received financial support from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Dementia Collaborative Research Centres program (DCRC-EDP) and the McCusker Alzheimer's Research Foundation, as well as ongoing funding from the Science and Industry Endowment Fund (www.SIEF.org.au). Pfizer International and GE healthcare have contributed financial support to assist with analysis of blood samples and to further the AIBL research program. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.