Blood, eye, and brain scans team up to spot Alzheimer's earlier
NCT ID NCT05655650
First seen Sep 18, 2026 · Last updated Sep 18, 2026
Summary
Researchers are studying whether a combination of blood tests, retinal imaging, and brain scans can improve the detection and staging of Alzheimer's disease in Chinese adults. The study enrolls 300 people, including those with probable Alzheimer's dementia and those without. Participants undergo cognitive assessments and imaging tests that measure amyloid and tau proteins, brain blood flow, and glucose metabolism. The goal is to find reliable markers that could identify Alzheimer's before symptoms become severe.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If the markers prove reliable, doctors could detect Alzheimer's earlier and stage it more accurately, when treatments may work better.
- What could go wrong
- This observational study does not test a treatment, so it cannot cure or slow Alzheimer's. The markers may not predict disease well, and results in Chinese adults may not apply to other groups.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
-
About 300 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Sep 2018
- Expected to finish
-
Dec 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
AD subjects will be recruited from neurology cognitive disorder clinic of Prince of Wales Hospital. Age match normal control will be recruited from existing normal control studies.
- Ages
-
20 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Chinese ethnicity * \[For dementia group, clinical diagnosis of "probable Alzheimer's disease" according to recommendation from the National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association workgroups (NIA-AA) Exclusion Criteria: * Clinical diagnosis of non-AD dementia * contraindication for MRI or PET
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Alzheimer disease are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Chinese University of Hong Kong
RECRUITINGHong Kong, Hong Hong, Hong Kong
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a massive data registry crack the code of Parkinson's and related brain diseases?
- Can a gentle electric current calm the mind in Alzheimer's?
- Alzheimer's vaccine aims to clear amyloid before memory fades
- Can a home device slow Alzheimer's? pilot study tests pulsed electromagnetic therapy
- Eye scans as a window to the body: study probes retinal imaging across diseases
- Can music and conversation ease dementia symptoms? volunteers put it to the test