A public resource of baseline data from the Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative Autosomal-Dominant Alzheimer's Disease Trial

Abstract

Introduction: The Alzheimer's Prevention Initiative Autosomal-Dominant Alzheimer's Disease (API ADAD) Trial evaluated the anti-oligomeric amyloid beta (Aβ) antibody therapy crenezumab in cognitively unimpaired members of the Colombian presenilin 1 (PSEN1) E280A kindred. We report availability, methods employed to protect confidentiality and anonymity of participants, and process for requesting and accessing baseline data.

Methods: We developed mechanisms to share baseline data from the API ADAD Trial in consultation with experts and other groups sharing data from Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention trials, balancing the need to protect anonymity and trial integrity with making data broadly available to accelerate progress in the field. We pressure-tested deliberate and inadvertent potential threats under specific assumptions, employed a system to suppress or mask both direct and indirect identifying variables, limited and firewalled data managers, and put forth specific principles requisite to receive data.

Results: Baseline demographic, PSEN1 E280A and apolipoprotein E genotypes, florbetapir and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, clinical, and cognitive data can now be requested by interested researchers.

Discussion: Baseline data are publicly available; treatment data and biological samples, including baseline and treatment-related blood-based biomarker data will become available in accordance with our original trial agreement and subsequently developed Collaboration for Alzheimer's Prevention principles. Sharing of these data will allow exploration of important questions including the differential effects of initiating an investigational AD prevention therapy both before as well as after measurable Aβ plaque deposition.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; amyloid; antibody; data sharing; magnetic resonance imaging; positron emission tomography; presenilin 1; primary prevention; secondary prevention.