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SearchThe project aims to develop a pathway for accurate and timely Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis
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CLEVELAND: Cleveland Clinic is now one of eight sites in the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative Healthcare System Preparedness (DAC-SP) Accurate Diagnosis project, which aims to develop a pathway for accurate and timely Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis using blood-based biomarkers in primary and specialty care settings.
Cleveland Clinic’s site will focus on implementing blood-based biomarkers as part of new patient visits at the Center for Geriatric Medicine, with support from the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health for patients seeking confirmatory testing and novel therapeutics.
The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) is a worldwide initiative seeking to cure Alzheimer’s disease and improve brain health. The DAC-SP Accurate Diagnosis project represents the first-ever global implementation study to examine biomarker pathology assessments throughout the Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD) diagnostic pathway.
This project builds on years of foundational research by Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Geriatric Medicine, which has focused on identifying barriers to Alzheimer’s diagnosis and improving the integration of diagnostic testing into primary care. The goal of this project is to enable healthcare providers to use these tests, traditionally employed in research settings, in everyday clinical practice, accelerating the translation of validated tools from research to timely patient care.
The Alzheimer’s Accurate Diagnosis Project at Cleveland Clinic is a collaborative effort among clinicians from the Primary Care Institute, Neurological Institute, and the Diagnostics Institute. Using a rigorous process, Cleveland Clinic will deploy, evaluate, and share clinical-use learnings for blood-based biomarkers and confirmatory diagnostic testing.
The sample size for this study will include 1,200 Cleveland Clinic patients who are at least 55 years old and have suspected cognitive impairment without a pre-existing diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. Study sites include all Cleveland Clinic Center for Geriatric Medicine locations and Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health outpatient practices throughout Northeast Ohio.
Cleveland Clinic will join the DAC Healthcare System Preparedness Program Community of Practice with the aim to provide more timely and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease within healthcare systems around the world.
“We are committed to advancing timely diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease in all resource settings, around the world, thus leveraging learnings for the benefit of all,” said Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative Founding Chairman George Vradenburg. “The Accurate Diagnosis project in Cleveland Clinic will help catalyze healthcare system change and will make patient-centered care and support more widely accessible.”
Study sites will share learnings with DAC-SP and each other in regular community of practice meetings throughout the 18-month project.
“Participating in this program is an important step towards integrating a timely clinical and biological diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease into dementia care pathways, which is expected to improve diagnostic accuracy and access to appropriate resources including therapeutics,” said Saket Saxena, M.D., geriatrician at the Center for Geriatric Medicine and principal investigator of the project.
To benefit other healthcare systems interested in adopting similar efforts, the learnings and practical resources from the Accurate Diagnosis project will be shared as part of the Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative Early Detection Blueprint.
Other sites participating in the Accurate Diagnosis project include: University of Kansas Health System and University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam at Amsterdam UMC, Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU), Hospital Munich – Alzheimer’s Therapy and Research Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology.
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. Cleveland Clinic is consistently recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for its expertise and care. Among Cleveland Clinic’s 82,600 employees worldwide are more than 5,786 salaried physicians and researchers, and 20,700 registered nurses and advanced practice providers, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic is a 6,728-bed health system that includes a 173-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 23 hospitals, 280 outpatient facilities, including locations in northeast Ohio; Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2024, there were 15.7 million outpatient encounters, 333,000 hospital admissions and observations, and 320,000 surgeries and procedures throughout Cleveland Clinic’s health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 112 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at x.com/CleClinicNews. News and resources are available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.
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The Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative (DAC) is a pioneering worldwide initiative to cure Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, seeking to mirror the success of global efforts against infectious diseases. DAC is extending global research beyond its current focus on traditional Western European ethnic populations into the highly diversified populations of the Global South, where the vast majority of those with Alzheimer’s live. By introducing lower-cost screening and diagnostic tools as well as new treatment and prevention modalities in primary care and community health settings, DAC is driving implementation of health system solutions that are appropriate for worldwide application. DAC also promotes the vital importance of brain health throughout the lifespan by addressing cardiometabolic and lifestyle factors, especially in early and mid-life. Absent effective action at scale around the world, by 2050, more than 150 million families and half a billion people will be personally impacted by dementia, creating a social, financial, economic, and global security disaster of historic proportions. DAC was launched in Davos in 2021 by the World Economic Forum and the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer's Disease. For more information, please visit: davosalzheimerscollaborative.org
DAC’s Healthcare System Preparedness Program (DAC-SP) is catalyzing healthcare system transformation through innovative approaches that measurably increase rates of cognitive screening, early detection, and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders. The initiatives are incorporated into enduring resources and Learning Laboratories, a network of governments and public health and healthcare system leaders, to share best practices. Scaled globally, these practices will position healthcare systems to speed the latest treatments and innovations to those who need them.
