A lesson from Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer’s Network (DIAN)

Hiroshi Mori, PhD¹⁾, Mikio Shoji, MD, PhD²⁾, Masaki Ikeda, MD, PhD³⁾, Takeshi Ikeuchi, MD, PhD⁴⁾, Takeshi Iwatsubo, MD, PhD⁵⁾, Hiroyuki Shimada, MD, PhD⁶⁾

¹⁾Department of Neuroscience, Osaka City University Medical School
²⁾Department of Neurology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine
³⁾Department of Neurology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine
⁴⁾Department of Molecular Genetics, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University
⁵⁾Department of Neuropathology, University of Tokyo, Medical School
⁶⁾Department of Neurology, Osaka City University Medical School

We have visited Washington University in St. Louis to learn an epoch-making clinical observation study on familial Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that was developed by Drs. Morris and Bateman, and their colleagues. They revealed longitudinal changes over decades in biomarkers, neuroimaging and neuropsychological parameters in presymptomatic individuals of pedigrees with dominantly inherited AD by performing a series of cross-sectional examinations. This study was referred to as Dominantly Inherited Alzheimr’s Network (DIAN). On the basis of the findings obtained from the DIAN observational study, the study group is launching a preventive intervention trial using disease-modifying drugs targeting amyloid-beta, termed as DIAN-therapeutic trials unit (DIAN-TTU) in 2013. Due to its excellent idea and large potential benefit for subjects and patients with familial AD, it should be an urgent and significant try to make a DIAN activity in Japan.

Address Correspondence to Dr. Hiroshi Mori, Department of Neuroscience, Osaka City University Medical School (1-4-3 Asahimachi, Abenoku, Osaka 545-8585, Japan)