Older adults needed for memory study

School of Medicine researchers are conducting a study to investigate factors related to memory in older adults. They are seeking healthy volunteers between 70 and 75 years of age who have siblings also willing to participate.

Study participants will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging scan to determine the structure of the brain and a positron emission tomography scan to analyze amyloid levels in the brain. Amyloid is a protein related to memory and to Alzheimer’s disease.

The research team is led by Alison M. Goate, Ph.D., the Samuel and Mae S. Ludwig Professor of Genetics in Psychiatry and professor of genetics and of neurology, and Mark A. Mintun, M.D., professor of radiology and of psychiatry.

Participants and their sibling volunteers must be within four years of one another’s age. The presence of metal in the body, such as pacemakers or prosthetic devices, may exclude some subjects.

Participants will make two visits to the medical center for the testing. Each visit will last two-and-a-half to three hours. Study volunteers will be compensated for their time.

For more information or to volunteer for the study, call Angela at 362-1558.