Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline and memory loss, making it the most prevalent cause of dementia among the elderly. These clinical syndromes can also be observed in people who do not have Alzheimer’s disease, but who do have subjective memory complaints. One way of informing whether someone presents with psychological distress presenting as memory problems, over and above a biological dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, is to complete detailed memory assessments. However, people can become more psychologically distressed when asked to complete memory tests if they have a subjective memory problem. Therefore, a parallel and novel complement of a biomarker is needed to be tested for these people.
Neuronal cell damage and death can be measured in blood by investigating neurofilament light chain protein, through a simple and small blood draw. The objective of this study, is to investigate participants’ experience, acceptability, and feasibility of cognitive assessment and a blood-draw for NfL acquisition. We anticipate that people who experience a blood-draw alongside their cognitive assessment, will experience lower anxiety than cognitive testing alone. The NfL bloodmarker cannot inform someone if they have Alzheimer’s disease, but it can inform them if their brain health is currently within an age-matched expected range. This is the case for people with subjective cognitive impairment. This is an acceptability and feasibility study, and we aim to investigate people’s experience of undergoing both cognitive assessment and a blood draw in parallel. This study is an excellent learning opportunity and framework for the HRB SSS, as well as providing ground-breaking pilot outcomes for future work. If funded, the Alzheimer’s Society of Ireland will be further closely liaised with as PPI contributors.