Leading equitable research in Alzheimer's disease in Africa (LEAD Africa)

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and related dementias (ADRD) pose a global health challenge. Africa presents promising research opportunities, especially in AD/ADRD due to projections indicating a tripling of Africans aged 60 and older by 2050 and the fact that Africa countries are the most genetically variable in the world. However, there are numerous barriers to AD/ADRD research that this Leading expandable research in AD in Africa (LEAD Africa) application addresses by proposing a new research framework that includes a research protocol that is feasible for anyone, anywhere, both in terms of scalable implementation and costs. Smartphones emerge as the most ubiquitous technology, available even in rural areas. Additionally, drawing blood has become possible virtually anywhere with significant advances in point-of-care methods. LEAD Africa seeks to establish an AD/ADRD infrastructure in research resource limited areas of Africa. This research objective will be achieved by fostering a robust collaboration between multiple principal investigators (MPI) from Ghana-based Ghana Prevent Programme, Tanzania-based Fight Dementia and Care Organization (FDCO) and Republic of the Congo-based Congo-Kinshasa Longitudinal Study and U.S.-based Boston University. Through an initial 2-year UG3 Exploratory/Development phase, the specific aims will center on establishing the research consortia co-led by the 3 Africa-based research teams that will include bi-directional
training and mentorship to support developing and pilot testing of culturally appropriate study protocols and establishing a data management and sharing back end. Additional efforts will focus on establishing a structured management and leadership framework that includes formation of an External Advisory Board consisting of multidisciplinary experts from Africa and the U.S. and key stakeholders in the fields of AD/ADRD research, healthcare and community engagement and the engagement of different stakeholders, including, but not limited to, research participants and members of the community. The 4-year UH3 Implementation phase will collect clinical and digital data as well as blood from approximately 2,900 participants from the 3 Africa study sites. Longitudinal phenotypic data will be collected via a smartphone over a 3-year period. Each African research team will conduct consensus diagnostic review to identify prevalent and
incident cases of cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD/ADRD, and manage, process and analyze their data independently, as well as collectively with other researchers both within and outside the consortia. Success will result in each Africa research team having built capacity for sustaining longitudinal characterization of their cohorts, continuing analyses with local and international collaborators, providing evidence of an AD/ADRD research infrastructure and accomplishment to attract sustainable funding and training/mentoring other research groups within and out of their country to further expand the impact of their research programs and extend their research network.

Grant Number: 3UG3AG090672-01S2
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Rhoda Au