The CCNA has established seven National Platforms and Working groups to facilitate research and create opportunities for collaboration by pooling and drawing on big data.
- PLATFORMS
The Clinical Cohort
The Comprehensive Assessment on Neurodegeneration (COMPASS-ND) study is a pan-Canadian set of cohorts made up of subjects with various cognitive conditions. From these cohorts, researchers will collect clinical and behavioural data, biospecimens, images, genetics, and brain donations to support the research of CCNA’s teams and address the large-scale causes, treatment, and prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
In addition to comparing between individuals with different types of dementia or cognitive decline, we also want to compare individuals with dementia with healthy, cognitively intact individuals. Towards this end, we will be collecting a cohort of 650 healthy elderly individuals without cognitive complaints to act as a healthy elderly control comparison group. Two hundred individuals will have the full COMPASS-ND assessment, while 450 will have just the screening, clinical, and neuropsychological elements of COMPASS-ND, foregoing the MRI and biosample collection. This will provide important information on the range of intact performance and scores on the COMPASS-ND tests.
The study is aiming to recruit more than 2,000 participants. Click here to learn more.
LORIS
LORIS is a web-based data management system that houses images, clinical and behavioural data, genetics, and bio-banking information. The CCNA is using it to store, process, and disseminate information about all aspects of the consortium, particularly the Clinical Cohorts Platform.
Imaging, Database & Information Technology
The Neuroimaging Network will be streamlining and standardizing the collection and analysis of all MRI images from the Clinical Cohorts Platform.
CAN-THUMBS UP: the Canadian Therapeutic Platform Trial for Multidomain Interventions to Prevent Dementia
The Canadian Therapeutic Platform Trial for Multidomain Interventions to Prevent Dementia (CAN Thumbs Up, or CTU), is a comprehensive and innovative program aimed to a) develop, pilot, implement and evaluate an interactive and compelling online educational intervention, called the Brain Health Support Program (BHSP), with potential to positively influence lifestyle risk factors and scale-up to reach the broader Canadian public; b) enroll and retain a community-dwelling Platform Trial Cohort (PTC) of individuals at risk of dementia; and c) support an open platform trial to test a variety of multidomain interventions that might further benefit individuals at risk of dementia.
The pilot study is recruiting its first 20 participants. Click here to learn more.
- WORKING GROUPS