Massive brain disease database aims to unlock secrets of Alzheimer's and ALS
NCT ID NCT04715399
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study collects information and samples from 1,000 people with or at risk for brain diseases like Alzheimer's, ALS, and frontotemporal degeneration. Researchers will track changes in thinking, language, and brain scans over time. The goal is to build a resource for future studies, not to test a new treatment.
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
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About 1,000 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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May 2020
- Expected to finish
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May 2070
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
To better understand neurodegenerative diseases, the investigators will include people living with these illnesses, people at risk of developing these illnesses, and people without neurodegenerative disease who wish to contribute to science as controls.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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: This protocol will include 3 groups of people: 1. People with a clinical diagnosis of a neurodegenerative disease. such as frontotemporal degeneration(FTD), primary progressive aphasia(PPA), Lewy body disease(LBD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS), progressive supranuclear palsy(PSP), corticobasal syndrome(CBS), posterior cortical atrophy(PCA), Alzheimer's disease(AD), Parkinson's disease(PD) 2. People with a family history of neurodegenerative disease who may or may not be symptomatic, and may or may not be mutation carriers such as familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration (fFTLD) or familial ALS, 3. People with no known neurological disease who will provide control data. Exclusion Criteria: * Anyone who is under the age of 18. * Anyone with a condition or in a situation which, in the Investigator's opinion, could confound the study findings or may interfere significantly with a person's participation, including but not limited to neurological, psychological and other medical conditions (such as cardiac, neurosurgical, infectious conditions). * Individual participants may be excluded from some, but not all, study procedures for safety reasons when they have a contraindication or at the discretion of the Investigator. For example, persons with metal implants which are not MRI-safe will not be able to take part in imaging, and those on blood thinning medications may not be able to take part in lumbar puncture. * Pregnant women; if a woman becomes pregnant during the study, research activities that may increase risk to the patient and the unborn fetus will be stopped until the end of pregnancy, at which point participation can be resumed.
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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.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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University of Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
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