Cookies on this website
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Continue' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

First participant arrives for screening as part of Deep and Frequent Phenotyping study

Research Volunteer Opportunities

Researchers in Oxford have begun screening participants in DPUK’s Deep and Frequent Phenotyping (DFP) study – the world’s most detailed study into early Alzheimer’s disease.

First participant arrives for screening as part of Deep and Frequent Phenotyping study
Study volunteer Gillian Brown talks to DFP trial co-ordinator Dr Tony Thayanandan

Launched last month, the DFP study is jointly funded by the MRC and NIHR, and aims to tackle the challenge of diagnosing and tracking Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages – often decades before symptoms start to show.

DFP will recruit 250 participants from across the UK who are over 60 and in good health, but with a family history of dementia. Volunteers will undergo a range of existing and novel tests over a year-long period, including brain scans, cognitive and memory tests, scans of brain magnetic fields, retinal imaging, blood tests, and the use of wearable technology to measure movement, gait and ongoing cognitive abilities.

This will be the most comprehensive set of assessments ever completed in this group of people. Data from the study will be made available to researchers via the secure DPUK Data Portal.

Read more (Dementias Platform UK website)

Similar stories

COVID-19: is obesity really more of a risk factor for men than women?

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

3,400 different medicines used globally to treat COVID-19

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

Insufficient data, and misleading recommendations led to significant early heterogeneity in global COVID-19 patient management, according to recent BMJ study.

Children and Adolescents’ Mental Health: One Year On

Coronavirus COVID-19 General Research

Parents and carers reported that behavioural, emotional and attentional difficulties in their children changed considerably throughout the past year, increasing in times of national lockdown and decreasing as restrictions eased and schools reopened, according to the latest Co-SPACE (COVID-19 Supporting Parents, Adolescents, and Children in Epidemics) study, led by experts at the University of Oxford.

Future-Proofing Mental Health

General Research

UK academics are calling for targets for mental health research in order to meet the healthcare challenges of the next decade. Published today in Journal of Mental Health, researchers set out four overarching goals that will speed up implementation of mental health research and give a clear direction for researchers and funders to focus their efforts when it comes to better understanding the treatment of mental health.

Promising malaria vaccine enters final stage of clinical testing in West Africa

Clinical Trials General Research

First vaccinations have now begun in Mali in a phase III trial of a malaria vaccine developed at the University of Oxford. Known as R21/Matrix-M, it recently showed efficacy of 77% over 12 months in a phase IIb trial, and it is hoped that this phase III trial will help to lead to licensure of this malaria vaccine by 2023.

Study reveals the three most important aspects of care for hip fractures

General Research

Older patients with hip fractures recover better if they receive treatment under the supervision of both a surgeon and a specialist in elderly care; are checked to avoid future falls; and are assessed for memory problems.