Join a research study
It takes a global village!
Partner with us on the discovery journey to prevent dementia
VascBrain
A study of CADASIL, Alzheimer’s, and white matter disease is enrolling participants.
Who can enroll in VascBrain
Individuals who have or are at risk for CADASIL (Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoencephalopathy).
Individuals with genetic changes in NOTCH3, HTRA1, COL4A, TREX1, GLA, or other genes causing small vessel disease or leukodystrophy (commonly called white matter disease on brain imaging reports) and their family members (with or without confirmed genetic changes), and carriers of APOE4.
Individuals diagnosed with moderate-severe white matter disease of unknown cause or a strange pattern of white matter disease.
Individuals with family history of significant white matter disease or risk of leukodystrophy or leukoencephalopathy.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact our clinical research team at ruth.axton@mssm.edu for more information.
ALLFTD
A nation-wide study of FTD is enrolling participants at Mount Sinai
Who can enroll in ALLFTD
Individuals diagnosed with the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), or bvFTD with motor neuron disease (bvFTD-MND).
Individuals diagnosed with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), or the nonfluent variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA).
Individuals and family members carrying mutations in known FTLD genes.
Individuals diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or corticobasal syndrome (CBD-S).
Family members (with or without symptoms and/or diagnosis) are also welcome.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please contact our clinical research team at ruth.axton@mssm.edu for more information.
What to expect at a research visit
All participants will have a neurological examination and cognitive test, share their story, and donate blood. Brain imaging (MRI), eye imaging, and lumbar puncture for collection of cerebrospinal fluid are optional. We also have a brain donation program that we can discuss with you.
Short in-person study
You come to Mount Sinai, share your story, get a neurological examination and cognitive testing, and donate a blood sample.
Full study
You complete an in-person visit and one or more of the optional components (MRI, retinal scans, lumbar puncture). You will also be able to participate in our remote cohort by installing a game-based app on a smartphone.
Short remote study
You share your story and do a brief cognitive test by video (~30 mins). We guide you to install a game-based app on a smartphone to take quick cognitive tests from the comfort of your home. Optional: we send a phlebotomist to your home to draw your blood and ship it to us.
Other studies we collaborate on scientifically (not enrolling at Mount Sinai)
Diverse VCID (Diverse Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia) is a 6-year, multi-site study of 2,250 Americans from diverse backgrounds to understand the role of incidental white matter disease in developing dementia. Our lab is leading a blood biomarker project for this study.
MarkVCID (bioMarkers for Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Impairment and Dementia) is a multi-site study dedicated to validating predictive, diagnostic, target engagement, and progression biomarkers of cerebral small-vessel disease. Elahi is co-chair of the fluid biomarker committee and our lab collaborates on biomarker development in this consortium.
Brain Donations
Give to bring hope for a future without disease.
If you are interested in learning more about brain donation, please contact our clinical research team at ruth.axton@mssm.edu. If we can take your donations at Mount Sinai we will, at not cost; otherwise we’ll connect you to our network for a local donation center.
Your contributions are essential for breakthrough discoveries
By participating in a research study, you can help us understand how disease unfolds, how the human brain changes over time, and what molecules are driving changes that we would want to stop. Since we cannot access brain tissue, we use innovative ways to study brain cells by testing the molecules in your blood and cerebrospinal fluid–we even create human cellular models that recapitulate pathologies in a dish.
Thanks for partnering with us on the discovery journey toward development of treatments against dementia!