Prospective Imaging Study of Ageing (PISA): Genes, Brain and Behaviour

PISA is a longitudinal cohort study of middle-aged and older Australians, which seeks to understand how Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, develops.

Genetic risk prediction, online surveys, linkage to medical records, and cognitive testing were used to characterise an Australia-wide sample totalling over 5,000 participants. A subset of healthy participants and a clinical cohort of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease were invited for on-site visits for detailed functional, structural and molecular neuroimaging, lifestyle monitoring, detailed neurocognitive testing, and blood sample donation.

An extension of PISA is currently underway, including a follow-up online survey and cognitive testing. New onsite testing of healthy and clinical participants includes the latest neuroimaging techniques to investigate cholinergic degeneration, the gradual loss of brain cells that help with memory, learning, and attention by using the brain chemical acetylcholine.

PISA was previously funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Boosting Dementia Research Initiative - Team Grant as a joint research program of QIMR Berghofer, The University of Queensland, Queensland Health, CSIRO and The University of Western Australia.

Current PISA extensions are part of a collaboration between QIMR Berghofer, The University of Newcastle, The University of Queensland and CSIRO, in conjunction with the Australian Dementia Network (ADNeT) and the Queensland Ageing and Dementia Study (QADS).

The study is a unique international research resource, providing new insights into the causes of dementia, identifying biomarkers of disease onset, and assisting clinical trials in dementia prevention.

Dementia is the leading cause of death in Australia. Understanding early disease processes and identifying individuals at the earliest disease stage will be critical to enabling early treatment and intervention.

This study recruits research participants who have previously been enrolled in genetic epidemiology studies at QIMR Berghofer.

In addition, we are recruiting individuals with a recent diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment, working with clinical partners.

PISA has two research arms, PISA Online and PISA Onsite.

Participation in PISA Online includes completing online surveys (paper-based on request), linking to medical records (MBS and PBS), and completing online cognitive testing games. Current extensions to PISA Online will include completing a follow-up survey and additional online tasks, such as speech and motor cognitive tests.

Participation in PISA Onsite consists of attending on-site research visits where we conduct Cognitive Assessments, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans to capture high-resolution images of the brain, collect blood samples, and provide a smart sensing device that measures physical activity and sleep quality.