Research Project

Here you will find details of research projects currently taking place at the department of Geriatric Medicine. The include the following:

Longitudinal Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Study DELCODE

The German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) wants to find out, whether and which subjective cognitive changes may signal a neurodegenerative disease, whether progression of initial cognitive changes predicts the speed of further disease progression, and which determinants of cognitive decline can be identified in the prodromal disease stages.

Alzheimer Disease has a preclinical duration of years, if not decades, until progressive neuronal changes give rise to functional (cognitive) changes, which can initially be compensated and may be experienced only by the affected subject, before objective neuropsychological measures allow one to detect a cognitive decline. We examine new procedures to assess e.g. associative encoding in short-and long-term memory, in order to uncover and track functional deficits in brain regions affected very early in the disease. We are particularly interested how these deficits are associated with biomarkers of the disease (e.g. CSF markers, regional brain volumes), with subjective cognitive disturbances, and with functional impairment in everyday life.

In order to address these questions we realise comprehensive new observational studies with subjects in putatively prodromal or at-risk states. The identification of subjects in a prodromal or even preclinical disease stage is important because new treatments may probably only have an effect in these early stages, and refined neuropsychological methods can contribute to this risk-assessment.

We are looking for people over the age of 60 with the following profiles: Control subjects, Subjective memory complaints, Mild Cognitive Impairment, Mild Alzheimer's Disease, first degree relatives of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Contact: Felix Menne
Felix.Menne@charite.de

Respectful caring for the agitated elderly (RECAGE)

Project funding: European Commission Horizon 2020
Grant number: 779237

Project duration: 1.1.2018 - 31.12.2022

The treatment of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) continue to raise difficult problems. Both the pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapies often fail to achieve the expected results. The aim of this study is to assess the short- and long-term efficacy of a quite novel intervention, the Special Care Unit for patients with BPSD (SCU-B) as well as its cost-effectiveness.

Contact:

M.Sc. Herlind Megges
Herlind.Megges@charite.de

Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Disorders Registry (FTD-DESCRIBE)

The aim of the clinical trial "DESCRIBE-FTD" is to observe the development of the different variations of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Various analyses of the assessed clinical data, neuro-imaging as well as results of biomaterial including genetic analyses are intended.

Data of the trial will be assessed in yearly intervals. To perform scientific analyses blood samples and if applicable cerebrospinal fluid will be obtained, furthermore a head MRI will be conducted.

All subjects with a diagnose of one of the variations of frontotemporal dementia can participate.

Contact: Felix Menne
Felix.Menne@charite.de

Research database

For more details please use the Charité research database.

Clinical Studies

Get information about running clinical studies here.

Selected Publications

Derkow K, Rössling R, Schipke C, Krüger C, Bauer J, Fähling M, Stroux A, Schott E, Ruprecht K, Peters O, Lehnardt S (2018). Distinct expression of the neurotoxic microRNA family let-7 in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with Alzheimer's disease. PLoS One. 2018 Jul 16;13(7).
Joachim LK, Frölich L, Rüther E, Wiltfang J, Maier W, Kornhuber J, Bauer C, Heuser I, Peters O (2018). Correlation of CSF- and MRI-Biomarkers and Progression of Cognitive Decline in an Open Label MCI Trial. Prev Alzheimers Dis. 2018;5(3):202-206.
Teipel SJ, Metzger C, Brosseron F, Buerger K, Brueggen K...Peters O...DELCODE study group (2018). Multicenter Resting State Functional Connectivity in Prodromal and Dementia Stages of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;64(3):801-813.
Teubel J, Wüst B, Schipke CG, Peters O, Parr MK (2018). Methods in endogenous steroid profiling - A comparison of gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with supercritical fluid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (SFC-MS/MS). J Chromatogr A. 15;1554:101-116
Mattsson N, Groot C, Jansen WJ, Landau SM, Villemagne VL…Peters O…Ossenkoppele R (2018). Prevalence of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele in amyloid β positive subjects across the spectrum of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimers Dement. In press
Franzmeier N, Düzel E, Jessen F, Buerger K, Levin J…Peters O… Ewers M (2018). Left frontal hub connectivity delays cognitive impairment in autosomal-dominant and sporadic Alzheimer’s disease: Results from the DIAN & DELCODE studies. Brain, 141: 1186–1200
Jessen F, Spottke A, Boecker H, Brosseron F , Buerger K…Peters O.,… Düzel E (2018). Design and first baseline data of the DZNE multicenter observational study on predementia Alzheimer’s disease (DELCODE). Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, 10(1):15.
Jansen, Willemijn J., Rik Ossenkoppele, Betty M. Tijms…Peters O.,... Zetterberg., H (2018). Association of Cerebral Amyloid-β Aggregation With Cognitive Functioning in Persons Without Dementia. JAMA Psychiatry, 75(1): 84–95.
Lange, C., Suppa, P., Pietrzyk, U., Makowski, M.R., Spies, L., Peters, O., Buchert, R. (2017). Prediction of Alzheimer’s dementia in patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment in clinical routine: incremental value of biomarkers of neurodegeneration and brain amyloidosis added stepwise to cognitive status. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (in press).
Megges, H., Freiesleben ,S., Jankowski, N., Haas, B., Peters, O. (2017). Technology for home dementia care: A prototype locating system put to the test. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 10(3), 332-338
Bos, I., Vos, S. J., Frölich, L., Kornhuber, J., Wiltfang, J., Maier, W., … Visser, P. J. (2017). The frequency and influence of dementia risk factors in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 56, 33-40.
Estrella, M., Roberts, A., Mäurer, A., Fiebach, J., Buchert, R., Steinhagen-Thiessen, E., … Megges, H. (2017). [Acceptance of dementia diagnostics by getriatric hospital patients : Comparison of various investigation methods with emphasis on FDG-PET imaging]. Zeitschrift Fur Gerontologie Und Geriatrie, 50(1), 52-58.
Lacour, A., Espinosa, A., Louwersheimer, E., Heilmann, S., Hernández, I., Wolfsgruber, S., … Ruiz, A. (2017). Genome-wide significant risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease: role in progression to dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease among subjects with mild cognitive impairment. Molecular Psychiatry, 22(1), 153-160.
Wolfsgruber, S., Polcher, A., Koppara, A., Kleineidam, L., Frölich, L., Peters, O., … Wagner, M. (2017). Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers and Clinical Progression in Patients with Subjective Cognitive Decline and Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 58(3), 939-950.
Sims, R., van der Lee, S. J., Naj, A. C., Bellenguez, C., Badarinarayan, N., Jakobsdottir, J., … Schellenberg, G. D. (2017). Rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 implicate microglial-mediated innate immunity in Alzheimer’s disease. Nature Genetics, 49(9), 1373-1384.
Schipke, C. G., Koglin, N., Bullich, S., Joachim, L. K., Haas, B., Seibyl, J., … Peters, O. (2017). Correlation of florbetaben PET imaging and the amyloid peptide Aß42 in cerebrospinal fluid. Psychiatry Research, 265, 98-101.
Scheltens, N. M. E., Tijms, B. M., Koene, T., Barkhof, F., Teunissen, C. E., Wolfsgruber, S., … Amsterdam Dementia Cohort. (2017). Cognitive subtypes of probable Alzheimer’s disease robustly identified in four cohorts. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
Sabbagh, M. N., Schäuble, B., Anand, K., Richards, D., Murayama, S., Akatsu, H., … Seibyl, J. (2017). Histopathology and Florbetaben PET in Patients Incorrectly Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 56(2), 441-446.
Megges H., Freiesleben S.D., Lüdtke V. & Peters O. A comparison of the needs and preferences of locating systems by persons with dementia, their primary caregivers and experts. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gerontologie und Geriatrie (DGGG). 2016;Z Gerontol Geriat (2016) 49: 1
Ritter, K., Lange, C., Weygandt, M., Mäurer, A., Roberts, A., Estrella, M., … Buchert, R. (2016). Combination of Structural MRI and FDG-PET of the Brain Improves Diagnostic Accuracy in Newly Manifested Cognitive Impairment in Geriatric Inpatients. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 54(4), 1319-1331.
Peters, O., Heuser, I., Frölich, L., Rüther, E., Rienhoff, O., Kornhuber, J., … Maier, W. (2016). [Dementia Competence Network. Results and outlook]. Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz, 59(4), 438-443.
Müller, S., Preische, O., Göpfert, J. C., Yañez, V. A. C., Joos, T. O., Boecker, H., … Laske, C. (2017). Tau plasma levels in subjective cognitive decline: Results from the DELCODE study. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 9529.
Louwersheimer, E., Wolfsgruber, S., Espinosa, A., Lacour, A., Heilmann-Heimbach, S., Alegret, M., … Ramirez, A. (2016). Alzheimer’s disease risk variants modulate endophenotypes in mild cognitive impairment. Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, 12(8), 872-881.
Koppara, A., Wolfsgruber, S., Kleineidam, L., Schmidtke, K., Frölich, L., Kurz, A., … Wagner, M. (2016). The Latent Dementia Phenotype δ is Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease and Predicts Conversion to Dementia in Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 49(2), 547-560.
Lewczuk, P., Kornhuber, J., Toledo, J. B., Trojanowski, J. Q., Knapik-Czajka, M., Peters, O., … US-ADNI. (2016). Validation of the Erlangen Score Algorithm for the Prediction of the Development of Dementia due to Alzheimer’s Disease in Pre-Dementia Subjects. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease: JAD, 49(3), 887.
Bey, K., Wolfsgruber, S., Karaca, I., Wagner, H., Lardenoije, R., Becker, J., … Ramirez, A. (2016a). No association of the variant rs11887120 in DNMT3A with cognitive decline in individuals with mild cognitive impairment. Epigenomics, 8(5), 593-598.
Peters, O., Fuentes, M., Joachim, L. K., Jessen, F., Luckhaus, C., Kornhuber, J., … Heuser, I. (2015). Combined treatment with memantine and galantamine-CR compared with galantamine-CR only in antidementia drug naïve patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, 1(3), 198-204.
Jansen, W. J., Ossenkoppele, R., Knol, D. L., Tijms, B. M., Scheltens, P., Verhey, F. R. J., …Peters, O.,… Zetterberg, H. (2015). Prevalence of cerebral amyloid pathology in persons without dementia: a meta-analysis. JAMA, 313(19), 1924-1938.
Koppara, A., Wolfsgruber, S., Kleineidam, L., Schmidtke, K., Frölich, L., Kurz, A., Schulz, S., Hampel, H., Heuser, I., Peters, O., … Wagner, M. (2015). The Latent Dementia Phenotype δ is Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease and Predicts Conversion to Dementia in Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease: JAD, 49(2), 547-560.
Lewczuk, P., Kornhuber, J., German Dementia Competence Network, Toledo, J. B., Trojanowski, J. Q., Knapik-Czajka, M., Peters, O., Wiltfang, J., Shaw, LM., US-ADNI. (2015). Validation of the Erlangen Score Algorithm for the Prediction of the Development of Dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease in Pre-Dementia Subjects. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease: JAD, 48(2), 433-441.
Louwersheimer, E., Ramirez, A., Cruchaga, C., Becker, T., Kornhuber, J., Peters, O., … Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and Dementia Competence Network. (2015). Influence of genetic variants in SORL1 gene on the manifestation of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 36(3), 1605.e13-20.
Memczak, S., Papavasileiou, P., Peters, O., & Rajewsky, N. (2015). Identification and Characterization of Circular RNAs As a New Class of Putative Biomarkers in Human Blood. PloS One, 10(10), e0141214.
Morgen, K., Schneider, M., Frölich, L., Tost, H., Plichta, M. M., Kölsch, H., Rakebrandt, F., Rienhoff, O., Jessen, F., Peters, O., … Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2015). Apolipoprotein E-dependent load of white matter hyperintensities in Alzheimer's disease: a voxel-based lesion mapping study. Alzheimer's Research & Therapy, 7(1), 27.
Popp, J., Wolfsgruber, S., Heuser, I., Peters, O., Hüll, M., Schröder, J., … Jessen, F. (2015). Cerebrospinal fluid cortisol and clinical disease progression in MCI and dementia of Alzheimer's type. Neurobiology of Aging, 36(2), 601-607.
Vos, S. J. B., Verhey, F., Frölich, L., Kornhuber, J., Wiltfang, J., Maier, W., Peters, O., … Visser, P. J. (2015). Prevalence and prognosis of Alzheimer's disease at the mild cognitive impairment stage. Brain: A Journal of Neurology, 138(Pt 5), 1327-1338.
Wolfsgruber, S., Jessen, F., Koppara, A., Kleineidam, L., Schmidtke, K., Frölich, L., Kurz, A., Schulz, S., Hampel, H., Heuser, I., Peters, O., … Wagner, M. (2015). Subjective cognitive decline is related to CSF biomarkers of AD in patients with MCI. Neurology, 84(12), 1261-1268.
Barucker, C., Sommer, A., Beckmann, G., Eravci, M., Harmeier, A., Schipke, C. G., … Peters, O., Multhaup, G. (2015). Alzheimer amyloid peptide aβ42 regulates gene expression of transcription and growth factors. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease: JAD, 44(2), 613-624.
Bocchetta, M., Galluzzi, S., Kehoe, P. G., Aguera, E., Bernabei, R., Bullock, R., … Peters, O., … Frisoni, G. B. (2015). The use of biomarkers for the etiologic diagnosis of MCI in Europe: an EADC survey. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 11(2), 195-206.e1.
Heilmann, S., Drichel, D., Clarimon, J., Fernández, V., Lacour, A., Wagner, H.,…Peters,O.,… Ramirez, A. (2015). PLD3 in non-familial Alzheimer's disease . Nature, 520(7545), E3-5.
Thelen, M., Razquin, C., Hernández, I., Gorostidi, A., Sánchez-Valle, R., Ortega-Cubero, S., … Peters, O., … Ramirez, A. (2014). Investigation of the role of rare TREM2 variants in frontotemporal dementia subtypes. Neurobiology of Aging, 35(11), 2657.e13-19.
Wolfsgruber, S., Wagner, M., Schmidtke, K., Frölich, L., Kurz, A., Schulz, S., Hampel H, Heuser, I., Peters, O., … Jessen, F. (2014). Memory concerns, memory performance and risk of dementia in patients with mild cognitive impairment. PloS One, 9(7), e100812.
Hooli, B. V., Parrado, A. R., Mullin, K., Yip, W.-K., Liu, T., Roehr, J. T., Qiao, D., Jessen, F., Peters, O., … Tanzi, R. E. (2014). The rare TREM2 R47H variant exerts only a modest effect on Alzheimer disease risk. Neurology, 83(15), 1353-1358.
Ramirez, A., van der Flier, W. M., Herold, C., Ramonet, D., Heilmann, S., Lewczuk, P., … Peters, O., … Nöthen, M. M. (2014). SUCLG2 identified as both a determinator of CSF Aβ1-42 levels and an attenuator of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. Human Molecular Genetics, 23(24), 6644-6658.
Morgen, K., Ramirez, A., Frölich, L., Tost, H., Plichta, M. M., Kölsch, H., Rakebrandt, F., Rienhoff, O., Jessen, F., Peters, O., … Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2014). Genetic interaction of PICALM and APOE is associated with brain atrophy and cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 10(5 Suppl), S269-276.
de Souza Silva, M. A., Lenz, B., Rotter, A., Biermann, T., Peters, O., Ramirez, A., … Schäble, S. (2013). Neurokinin3 receptor as a target to predict and improve learning and memory in the aged organism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(37), 15097-15102.
Morgen, K., Frölich, L., Tost, H., Plichta, M. M., Kölsch, H., Rakebrandt, F., … Meyer-Lindenberg, A. (2013). APOE-dependent phenotypes in subjects with mild cognitive impairment converting to Alzheimer's disease. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease: JAD, 37(2), 389-401.