The work of our group addresses clinical research questions in the areas of Alzheimer disease (AD) and late life depression (LLD) with the aim of improving early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of both conditions.
The focus of our research group is the conceptual and empirical delineation of the earliest manifestation of Alzheimer Disease (AD) making use of clinical, neuropsychological, brain imaging and biomarker technologies. We also study the link of AD with late life depression (LLD). For both, early AD and LLD we aim at developing early treatment and approaches of prevention.
The integration of several disciplines and technologies in patient-related research opens new avenues to understand, successfully treat and prevent complex brain disease at a greater age with major impact on individuals and society.
The aim of the group is to refine concepts of prevention of Alzheimer’s disease based on the definition of at-risk population for lifestyle-based intervention as well as for early molecular treatment, which will eventually allow personalized disease interception very early during AD and prevention of dementia. In the field of LLD, the aims of the group are to improve treatment options in this insufficiently recognized condition, to establish the pathophysiological link with neurodegeneration, and eventually to effectively foster healthy brain and mental aging.
The group of Frank Jessen is pioneering conceptual work on the earliest symptomatic manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease. In several studies and together with an international consensus group, the concept of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) as the first sign of Alzheimer’s disease has been introduced to the field by Frank Jessen and has been integrated in the National Institute of Aging-Alzheimer’s Association (NIA-AA) research criteria of Alzheimer’s disease. This concept has stimulated numerous grants and research activities worldwide and will guide early intervention trials designs in the future. In addition, the group is bridging the gap of neurodegeneration with late life depression (LLD) and was able to create a large psychotherapy clinical trial network on LLD in Germany, which also serves as a platform also for biomarker and neuroimaging studies.
The backbones of our work are:
Based on these structures, we work in local and multisite projects on the development of early disease markers and disease course prediction in AD (DELCODE study, DZNE), individual AD risk profiling and the molecular and functional link between early AD and LLD. In LLD, we coordinated a national multicenter psychotherapy trial (CBTlate) and study motor control within the CRC 1451 together with the MPI for metabolism research. Our projects interact with the Section of Molecular Neuropsychiatry of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cologne and are embedded in several local, national, and international collaborations and networks. To gain more insight into molecular mechanisms of risk and protective factor for dementia and LLD, we established collaborations with CEACD basic science groups. Our overall aim is to create new approaches for early intervention and prevention of brain and mental disorders in late life with focus on AD and depression.