Many researchers are finding that by the time a patient seeks treatment for symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, it's often too late for the available drugs to have an effect. Dr. Adam Boxer's lab is studying very precise eye tracking methods to gauge mental fitness and identify cognitive decline decades before the first symptoms appear.

Summary

• Study director: Adam Boxer, MD, PhD
• Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• Recruiting?: Yes
• Official study title: Eye movement control in normal adults and in adults with neurologic disease
• Conditions studied: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), semantic dementia (SD), progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA), Alzheimer's disease (AD), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and healthy adults
• Purpose: The purpose of this study is to learn about the mechanisms of eye movement control and visual perception, as well as how these functions may change with different neurologic diseases.

Eligibility

• Inclusion criteria: None
• Exclusion criteria: Subjects are ineligible for portions of our study if they have had cataract surgery in the right eye.

What is involved?

• Testing: Subjects view visual stimuli presented on a television monitor while their eye movements are recorded using safe, infrared technology. At times, we may ask questions about some of the pictures shown, and these answers may be recorded.
• Frequency of visits: One annual visit
• Materials needed prior to evaluation: None
• Costs: No costs will be charged for any of the study procedures. Parking will be validated for Millberry Parking Garage at UCSF for all study visits. There is no monetary compensation for participation.

Contact information

• Coordinator: Hilary Heuer, PhD – hheuer@memory.ucsf.edu, (415) 476-6743