簡介 OVERVIEW

阿茲海默症 (AD) 是一種神經退行性疾病，其特點是逐漸喪失記憶以及其他認知功能，是最常見的導致老年失智症的原因之一。阿茲海默症約佔所有老年失智症人口中的六成。於六十五歲以上老人人口中約有6-10%患有此病，也就是說在台灣約有十萬個老人患有阿茲海默症。平均從出現症狀到養老院安置約5至7年的時間。目前診斷標準一般是基於臨床表現和個案病史，但由於缺乏可靠的非侵入性的生物標誌物，一般很難正確的診斷阿茲海默症。

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive decline in memory and other aspect of cognition and is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. The average duration from onset of symptoms to nursing home placement is about 5 to 7 years.  Accurate diagnosis of AD is sometimes difficult due to lack of reliable non-invasive biomarkers, although the diagnostic criteria have been proposed based on clinical presentation and history. 

一個可靠的或理想的生物標誌物，應可供判定特定疾病病理，並有助於後續的病程，或治療效果評價，以及在無症狀前即可協助判定罹病的風險。

A reliable or ideal biomarker should base on the presence of disease-specific pathology, and should be helpful in follow-up the disease course, evaluation of treatment effect and for presymptomatic identification of subjects at risk for developing AD.

台灣阿茲海默症神經學影像研究倡議 (TW-ADNI) ，主旨在於開發阿茲海默症的生物標記。本研究將驗證核磁共振，核醫正子掃描，腦脊髓液分析，和血液生物標誌物等，是否可以用於本疾病的早期診斷。這項研究所收集到的數據，將會公開提供給學術界運用。

The mission of the Taiwan Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (TW-ADNI) is developing biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease in elderly subjects. A major goal of the study has been to establish and validate MRI and PET images, cerebral spinal fluid and blood biomarkers as predictors of the disease. Data collected throughout this study are available to the research community.