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The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute and the Department of Geriatrics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School have partnered with Franciscan Skemp Healthcare Department of Geriatrics to broaden its Alzheimer’s disease research.

Franciscan Skemp is currently recruiting for the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention. Recruitment for two groups of people is being accepted.

Group one includes people age 40 to 65 who have/had a parent with Alzheimer’s disease. The parent’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease must be reviewed and confirmed before eligibility can be confirmed.

Group two includes people age 40 to 65 who have both a mother who survived to the age of 75 or greater without evidence of dementia, and a father who survived to the age of 70 or greater without evidence of dementia.

Adult children of people with Alzheimer’s disease and control participants who enroll in the registry will undergo a baseline evaluation to include demographic, lifestyle and health data as well as neuropsychological and laboratory testing.

Information obtained from participants in the study will then be used to identify persons for appropriate research projects designed to better understand the causes of Alzheimer’s disease and delay or prevent its onset. Participation is entirely voluntary.

Research indicates that Alzheimer’s disease is a lifelong disease that initially develops in the brains of affected persons without producing symptoms. Because the disease might be present for many years prior to the onset of symptoms, Alzheimer’s disease might be preventable or delayed in onset if scientists could identify those factors which influence the disease course.

In the past, research into slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease or preventing its onset was difficult because affected persons do not develop symptoms of the disease until their 70s.

New technologies now permit the evaluation of prevention interventions in people who are in early stages of the disease and have no symptoms. This project seeks to take advantage of these latest technologies by developing a registry of adult children of persons with Alzheimer’s disease who might be at an increased risk of developing the disease.

For those who would like to learn more about the registry and possible participation, contact Sharon Schulz, Franciscan Skemp Department of Geriatrics, (608) 392-9505 or 800-362-5454, ext. 6810, or send a letter to Sharon Schulz, WRAP Study Coordinator, Franciscan Skemp Department of Geriatrics, 700 West Ave. S., La Crosse, WI 54601.