A fact sheet of the cohorts and data can also be dowloaded (BioFINDER fact sheet)
Clinical evaluation
- The subjects in all cohorts are assessed by physicians with special experience in dementias and cognitive disorders. A large battery of different tests and scale are administered to asses clinical symptoms, mood, cognition, ADL, quality of life, motor function, sleep etc.
- The cognitively healthy elderly, the patients with mild cognitive symptoms and patients with parkinsonian symptoms are also assessed regarding gait, balance, spatial navigation capacity and motor symptoms.
Amyloid PET imaging
- It is today possible to detect accumulation of amyloidβ (Aβ) in the brain with specific radio ligands that are visualized using PET imaging technology. With this method it is not only possible to detect accumulation of Aβ but also to follow the process over time and look at the regional distribution of Aβ within the brain.
Tau PET imaging
- It is today possible to detect accumulation of Tau in the brain with novel specific radio ligands that are visualized using PET imaging technology. Due to the novelty the number of published studies is limited but it has been shown that the method detects Tau-pathology.
MR imaging
- In collaboration with scientists at Lund University and Karolinska Institutet the participants in the BioFINDER cohorts are examined with advanced MR scanning techniques to detect eventual brain alterations.
CSF and blood marker analysis
- An extensive set of candidate biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are used to follow biological mechanisms suspected to be central in pathological processes associated with dementia and Parkinson-like disorders in all cohorts.
Neuropsychological assessment
- The patients with mild cognitive symptoms are thoroughly and repeatedly assessed with a neuropsychological test-battery that evaluates memory, executive function, visuospatial and verbal ability, as well as premorbid function.
Cell biology
- We are currently obtaining skin biopsies for isolation of fibroblasts from these biopsies and the isolated cells are converted to different brain cell types and IPS cells to test different neural-specific hypotheses.