Study participation begins with the University Memory and Aging Center's Research Registry. Qualifications for enrolling include mild to serious memory loss, living outside a nursing home, and a family member willing to take part. All studies are approved by University Hospitals of Cleveland's Institutional Review Board, comprised of medical professionals and community members.

Current Studies Include:

• Apolipoprotein E (ApoE): A blood test to study a protein that may increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
  
  

  Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a normal circulating protein which has been shown to be a risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease. ApoE helps to carry fats in the blood, intestines, and brain. It exists in three forms, which may be found in different combinations. Some of these forms carry a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. In this study we are collecting blood specimens from healthy individuals and from persons with Alzheimer's disease to analyze the type of ApoE present in the blood. The information obtained will help to explain how different proteins may interact in producing the disease.

• Genetic Risk Assessment: A study of genetic susceptibility testing in Alzheimer's disease.
  
  
• Life and Family History Studies: Studies look at factors such as eating habits, personality, and health and family history of people with Alzheimer's disease and those with normal memory.
  
  
• Adolescent Cognitive Abilities Study ("School Records Study"): A study to examine the possible relationships between cognitive abilities in adolescence (measured using grades and mental ability tests), participation in school activities (e.g., athletic groups, social clubs, academic organizations), and the development of memory and thinking problems in adulthood. Persons who graduated from Cleveland Heights High School (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) in 1944, 1945, and 1946 are screened for signs of memory impairments over the telephone. Information from their high school academic records is gathered from archives.

• Impact of Computer-mediated Caregiver Support Groups: A study to see whether participation in computer-mediated support groups can help caregivers maintain their own health and well-being and whether groups lead by professionals and groups lead by caregivers have similar effects.
  
  
• Caregiver Online Program for Education and Support: A study to determine if an experimental program of education and support will be better at reducing caregiver distress than commonly-used methods of reducing distress.
  
  
• Decision Making and Service Use in Caregiving Families: A study of how persons with dementia and their families make decisions about treatments and use of services.

• Mild Cognitive Impairment: A study to determine whether certain substances delay progression of mild memory loss.
  
  
• VITAL - Vitamins to slow Alzheimer's disease.
  
  
• Valproate - Can a drug reduce challanging behaviors in people with early AD
  
  
• CLASP - Cholesterol-Lowering Agent to Slow Progression of Alzheimer's Disease
  

• Visual Spatial Abilities: A study to understand how persons with memory loss orient to the visual world, how visual changes related to reading ability, and how reading materials may be altered to improve comprehension and retention.