Return of Amyloid Imaging Results (RAISR Study)

Diagnostic tests designed to detect Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology are increasingly popular in research on cognitive aging and AD. Due to concerns that information from such tests may be misunderstood, psychologically harmful, and of unclear clinical significance, results of pre mortem tests of AD pathology have typically been withheld from research participants. However, as the reliability and potential clinical significance of tests like brain amyloid imaging have become clear, there is a pressing need to revisit the practice of unilaterally withholding such information from research participants and identify responsible approaches to communicating individual results. Amyloid imaging results may be particularly relevant to mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a population for whom a growing body of evidence suggests that such testing may provide valuable prognostic and planning information, despite the unavailability of interventions to alter one's clinical course. Our preliminary work suggests that research participants with MCI and their family members are receptive to and capable of understanding information about the purpose, results, and implications of amyloid imaging when presented using a standardized approach developed by our interdisciplinary team. Building on this work, the proposed study will examine a well characterized sample of MCI care dyads (patient + family member) who will be randomized to either receive the opportunity to decide if they would like to pursue an amyloid PET Scan, or be randomized to not receive that opportunity (and will serve in the no-scan comparison group). This study aims to test hypotheses that examine how receiving amyloid imaging results will impact understanding of, and perceived self-efficacy for coping with, MCI among both patients and care partners.