Peking Union Medical College Hospital Dementia Study Tracking Cognitive Impairment in Older Adults in China

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are conducting a hospital-based observational study called the PUMCH Dementia Cohort, focusing on elderly Chinese individuals with cognitive impairment. The study aims to address the growing burden of dementia in China by exploring risk and prognostic factors, disease characteristics, cognitive assessments, biomarkers, diagnosis, and treatment of dementia and its subtypes. This effort seeks to build a comprehensive dementia database to improve clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prevention strategies. The study collects detailed baseline information including demographics, clinical history, physical exams, and extensive neuropsychological testing covering screening and specific cognitive domains. Biological samples like serum, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, skin, and saliva are stored for biomarker analysis. Participants are grouped by age at dementia onset and controls with normal cognition are included. Follow-up occurs every six months, with brain autopsy samples collected upon death to verify biomarkers and disease characterization. Participants provide data through regular clinical visits, cognitive tests, behavioral assessments, and collection of various fluid and tissue samples. The study tracks the incidence of dementia, cognitive and functional decline, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and biomarker changes over an average of 10 to 20 years. Education and training on dementia, as well as development of computer-assisted diagnostic and evaluation systems using machine learning, are also part of the study. The total participation duration varies as it is a long-term observational cohort.

PUMCH Dementia Longitudinal Cohort Study