Clinic Volunteers

The Aotearoa Brain Project is proud to help provide New Zealand’s first ever network of Dementia Prevention Research Clinics (DPRCs). Through our clinics, we enrol people with mild cognitive impairment and follow them over time to find out which factors influence improvement and which biomarkers, cognitive characteristics, and lifestyle factors influence development of Alzheimer’s disease. We may also invite participants to join preliminary clinical trials, to help us find new ways to prevent, delay or ameliorate Alzheimer’s or related dementias.

If you volunteer for our study, and meet the study’s selection criteria, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Have a detailed assessment of your memory by leading clinicians in the field

  • Be part of future research intervention studies aimed at delaying or preventing Alzheimer’s disease

Our clinics are run by multidisciplinary teams that consist of neurologists, clinic nurses, neuropsychologists, blood technicians and imaging specialists.

What to expect when you visit the clinic

When participants and their families attend one of our Dementia Prevention Research Clinics, this may involve 3-4 sessions.

Session 1

  • During your first visit you will meet our Clinical Research Nurse, who will fully explain the study and ask you to complete consent forms.

  • You will have a comprehensive assessment with our clinical team.

  • If you are eligible to continue in the study, you will be invited back for three more sessions:

Session 2

  • We collect a fasting blood sample.

  • We provide you with breakfast following blood collection.

  • You have a detailed assessment of your memory and thinking abilities.

Session 3

  • You have an MRI Brain scan.

Session 4

  • You will meet with our clinical team who will give you your assessment results, and a written summary report. They will also send the results of your assessment to your GP or primary healthcare provider. There is no charge for any of these tests.

If you have Mild Cognitive Impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease you will be reassessed annually, including interview, questionnaires, cognitive testing and blood tests. MRI scanning will be repeated every two years. If you were found to have another condition, you will not be followed up annually. Your data will be part of the database and you may be invited to participate in a broad range of preliminary clinical trials by our researchers.

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Referral process