WRAP Study Visit

Participation in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention provides the most comprehensive information for our researchers through engagement in our full list of study components. As always, your participation is voluntary and greatly appreciated!

What does a study visit include?

A full study visit, including cognitive testing and biomarkers, occurs across two or more days, which may be consecutive, with follow-up visits every 2 years. Each visit can include:

• Questionnaires and Interviews
• Cognitive Testing
• Vital Sign Measurement
• Blood Draw
• Physical Examination with Clinician
• Lumbar Puncture (LP)
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) – through the WRAP/ADRC PET Study

If you have questions about MRI, LP, PET or any aspects of a study visit, please contact WRAP.

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Detecting Alzheimer’s Disease

Why are bran scans and lumbar puncture requested?
Because they help detect biomarkers in the brain

What’s a biomarker?
If you schedule or attend a WRAP study visit, it’s likely you’ll hear about biomarkers in the brain. These markers are early signs of changes in the brain or body; and they are the primary way Alzheimer’s disease is diagnosed. The primary biomarkers of Alzheiemer’s disease are the brain proteins amyloid and tau.

Brain scans (including PET scans and MRI) and lumbar puncture are the way these early brain changes can be detected. The reason our study requests participation in a brain scan and/or lumbar puncture is because this valuable input gives researchers a way to fully track and montior changes happening in a person’s body or brain over time.

We are living in an exciting period of Alzheimer’s disease research. In just the past few years, researchers have learned significant findings about the importance of proteins amyloid and tau in the brain. And advances in imaging techniques have allowed scientists to identify these biomarkers up to 30 years before a person experiences any symptoms. These findings have been made possible because of research participants, including the wonderful WRAP participants who have contributed to our study. Enrolling in WRAP and participating in a biomarker procedure help advance research.

Sterling Johnson, WRAP PI, gave a talk about advances in imaging techniques and how they help researchers. Watch here.

Read more about proteins in the brain and how they help detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease – download the flyer

Want to know more about Alzheimer’s disease? Read more on the Wisconsin ADRC website:

About Alzheimer’s Disease

Prevention

All Open Studies at UW-Madison