This study will evaluate a diagnostic screening solution based on clinical and biological stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) ("Study"). The clinical stages will be screened using the digital tools from MoCA Test Inc. ("MoCA Cognition"). The biological stages will be screened using blood-based biomarkers ("BBM"). Based on the results of this Study, we will establish efficient and equitable criteria for diagnostic triage. The Study will result in an algorithm that can assist in assigning patients into a fast-track diagnostic pathway to determine if they are eligible or not for AD treatment with a disease modifying therapy ("DMT").
Primary objective: To develop and evaluate a diagnostic screening solution based on blood-based biomarkers and digital measures of cognition that could reduce the time-to-treatment for patients who are candidates for AD treatment with a disease modifying therapy.
Primary endpoint: Detailed cohort description of patients referred to the memory clinic MoCA Clinic Inc. ("MoCA Clinic"). This includes: (1) demographic characteristics; (2) cognitive screening scores measured by a digital MoCA via the MoCA score and XpressO application; (3) biomarker levels including PrecivityAD2 and MTBR; (4) the proportion of DMT candidates determined by a neurologist, (5) the causes and frequencies of why patients are not eligible for AD treatment (6) the number of diagnostic follow-up tests required after screening (MRI, PET/CSF), (7) the baseline referral times for future comparison against the fast-track pathway and (8) the time-until-diagnosis.
Secondary endpoints: Based on the primary endpoints, we will estimate the potential benefits of a diagnostic screening solution. This includes an estimation of the number of patients that would potentially miss out on the treatment window in the current diagnostic workflow.
Exploratory endpoints: (1) Validation of a self-administered digital version of the MoCA test ("MoCA Solo") compared to the paper MoCA test, (2) Evaluation of MoCA Solo as digital biomarker within the screening algorithm, (3) Health-economic estimation of the number and costs of follow-up tests at different levels of specificity, (4) The role of age, sex and education on the performance of the screening solution, (5) Prediction of time until patient would progress to moderate dementia based on baseline MoCA score and age, (6) Description of participant's history of symptoms and healthcare usage, (7) Correlation between the patient-centered version and the clinician versions of the Amyloid Treatment Screening Tool (ATST), (8) Evaluate the correlation between the MoCA Brain Health Questionnaire (MBHQ) score and participant diagnosis, (9) Evaluate the effect of the addition of MTBR results into screening algorithm.
Participants: Study population will include 500 patients who have been referred to the MoCA Clinic, including both new patients and existing patients. Based on prior referrals, we anticipate 60% female, 55-90 years, 80% French / 20% English, approximately 20% subjective cognitive decline (SCD), 60% mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 20% mild dementia.
Study Location: The study is conducted as a single-center study with patients from the Montreal area. Patients will be enrolled at the MoCA Clinic where full informed consent will be obtained.
Study Visits: In the active study period, two MoCA Clinic visits will be planned within 1-3 months: Visit 1 includes data collection feasible at a primary care physician: digital cognitive assessments, blood sample collection and amyloid-treatment screening test. Visit 2 includes cognitive assessment, data collection and diagnosis typical for a neurological visit. After the blood sample is analyzed, the prediction of diagnosis and eligibility for DMT will be made using our algorithm. After the active study period, at 6 months, information from the medical records will be reviewed to evaluate clinical follow-up.
This study is supported by an independent research grant from Eli Lilly Canada Inc.
