It’s about recruiting a new cohort of seniors…
The aim is to recruit a new cohort of people aged between 55 and 80, living in the Bordeaux area, and ready to take part in a research project on Alzheimer’s. “I called and registered immediately, concedes Caroline. Probably a little to reassure me about myself and at the same time be useful for something. »
Cécilia Samieri, neuro-epidemiologist, is director of research at Inserm and she set up this project with an all-female team. Pure random. Catherine Helmer, Catherine Feart and Coralie Delgado. The four women have roughly the same scientific background, but Catherine Helmer has more experience, since she participated in thePAQUID study (1989)which has been running for thirty years, included 3777 participants and was one of the first of its kind worldwide, conducted on Alzheimer’s disease.
This scientific work, led by public health professor and neurologist Jean-François Dartigues, was followed by another, even more ambitious project, thestudy of the 3 cities: Bordeaux, Dijon and Montpellier which currently has 10,000 participants. This research, which is a reference, has made it possible to make great progress in the understanding of this pathology, but also of all forms of senile dementia.
2000 candidates are expected
The new B cube study intends to follow in the footsteps of PAQUID and the 3 Cities, by recruiting 2,000 people, regardless of their current state of health.
Caroline has already answered a questionnaire on her background and her way of life, then she received at her home an epidemiologist from the team to carry out a series of cognitive tests, and a nurse for other clinical tests. “Blood test, urine and stool collection,” she comments. I was also subjected to a chronobiological evaluation which reassured me, since the scientist informed me that I was on this level, younger than my age of civil status! As for the cognitive tests, they are like a game and they, too, turn out to be positive. In all, it took me two half-days and I’m waiting for an appointment for a brain MRI. »
To date, like Caroline who lives in the Bordeaux suburbs, 185 people have already applied. “Our study, explains Cécilia Samieri, chose to observe the strengths, the characteristics of people who will never develop Alzheimer’s or dementia as they age, so we will follow them for a long time. We want to find out what are the early determinants of brain aging and why some people resist the lesions of the disease: genetics, lifestyle, diet, stress. Everything will be studied. »
If this survey is limited to the borders of the Bordeaux conurbation, it is because of funding limitations. Interventions are done at home to avoid candidates having to travel as much as possible. Catherine Helmer still follows about fifty “recruits” of the PAQUID study. “It’s a long-term job, she admits, we adapt to the situation of the volunteers. Some will not have to do everything, MRI is optional, as is the collection of urine and stool. There is no invasion of privacy either. On the other hand, the rest interests us, eating habits, social activity, blood pressure, weight…”
The quality of the microbiota
Catherine Feart, Inserm researcher, is an epidemiologist with a nutritional specialty. Here again, his investigation will focus on observing other factors than those of previous studies, and in particular the quality of the microbiota. “We know today, and this is new, that there would be a link between diet and brain health, she believes. A correlation between the intestinal microbiota and the occurrence of amyloid plaques in the brain, in particular. »
In addition, previous studies have integrated people ten years older than the B Cube, which also corresponds to the latest scientific findings: “Indeed, continues Cécilia Samieri, we recruit from 55 years old, the “late middle age”, the end of middle age which is when we change our lifestyle and which may be the key. »