Prospective Evaluation of Neuropsychological and Biological Characteristics of Mild Cognitive Impairment and of Associated Sub-Clinical Health Problems - MEMOVIE

Coordinating Institution: CRP Sante
Contracting Partner(s): University of Luxembourg
Other Partner(s): Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg , Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Nancy (F) , Inspection Générale de la Sécurité Sociale
From: 01/07/2005
To: 31/12/2009
Budget: 1,092,491.00€
Contact(s): Perquin Magali

Progress Summary 2009

The multidisciplinary MemoVie study has been designed in order to investigate the conditions under which the normal cognitive capacities of the senior population in Luxembourg progress (1) to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and (2) to Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-type dementia (ADTD). This project has been approved by the National Committee of Ethics in Research (CNER) and authorised by the National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD). The MCI stage, also called prodromal AD phase, is a critical stage whose diagnosis could provide benefits to patients in offering them specific approaches able to delay or even prevent further cognitive decline.

Therefore, improving the knowledge on MCI features is a crucial challenge for public health in ADTD prevention. The project aims to examine several parameters in association with MCI and possible evolution to AD, including medical profiles, biological and genetic factors, education, and multilingualism, as well as social and cultural criteria of a representative sample of Luxembourg elderly, randomly selected from the General Inspectorate of Social Security (IGSS) register. About 34% (337 individuals) of the targeted sample accepted our invitation and agreed to be included in the MemoVie study, while the others were proposed to reply a short questionnaire whose answers will also be important for measuring prevalence of dementia.

It is now essential to assess the relevance of this sample of volunteers in terms of being representative of the global population aged 65 and over. Then, we will be able to determine the prevalence of dementia and cognitive impairments in our country. One third of our population sample has left the study for diverse reasons (death, loss of motivation, secondary exclusion criteria, etc.). So now, the MemoVie cohort is composed by 225 volunteers (132 females and 93 males), with a median age of 73 years, almost all (97%) living out of institutions. At baseline, these 225 participants were submitted to 1,011 formatted interviews, cognitive evaluation and medical examination, performed by specifically-trained neuropsychologists, nurses, geriatricians and neurologists.

All profiles have been carefully classified by an internal committee and further validated by invited international experts in order to set up and standardise our diagnosis procedure. The follow-up at 1-year has already been carried out for 146 participants and should be completed by March 2010. Overall, the fastidious step of data entry has also been started and quality control processes are ongoing. Final conclusions and their statistical assessment are expected to be delivered shortly. Internal team: M PERQUIN (PhD), AM SCHULLER (PhD), JL LUDEWIG, D HOFFMANN, M D’INCAU, P FELTEN, S GOMES DOS SANTOS, M VAILLANT, S COUFFIGNAL (MD), ML LAIR