Approved Research

Progression Subphenotyping and Risk Gene Module Identification for Alzheimer's Disease

Lay summary

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic brain disorder that causes severe cognitive decline. One of the main challenges of AD is its progression heterogeneity, where patients can have varying rates and patterns of symptom progression and brain atrophy. The average lifespan of an AD patient is between 3 and 11 years after diagnosis, but some may survive for 20 years or more. To better understand this variation, we plan to use genetic data, longitudinal neuroimaging and clinical data to identify subgroups of AD patients with similar progression patterns, known as AD subphenotypes. Additionally, we will investigate genetic variants associated with each subphenotype to gain insight into the underlying biological mechanisms that drive different progression trends.