A comprehensive clinical-research unit focused on Frontotemporal Degeneration and related disorders, including Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), Semantic Dementia, Corticobasal Degeneration Syndrome (CBD), Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA), FTD-ALS, and related disorders.
Impact of our Research
The research program at the MGH FTD Unit encompasses a large variety of types of research. This page provides a brief summary as a high-level overview. Each section is detailed further on pages you can read by clicking on the links. All of this research depends on the participation of patients and families, and we are incredibly grateful for the time and effort you put into this aspect of our partnership. We hope that by participating in this way, you feel, as we do, that you are contributing in important ways to fighting back against these diseases. Please contact us if you have any questions about the MGH FTD Unit’s research program. Most of these projects have been launched with philanthropic donations from generous patients, family members, and other members of our community, and then the work conducted with these seed funds have been leveraged to obtain large grants from the National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer’s Association, Association for FTD, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, or foundations that fund this research.
Areas of Impact
Diagnosis and Symptoms
Active Research Studies
- ARTFL-LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration Study (ALLFTD)
- Longitudinal Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease Study (LEADS)
- 4-Repeat Tauopathy Neuroimaging Initiative – Cycle 2 (4RTNI-2)
- TMS in Primary Progressive Aphasia: Modulation of Brain Networks and Language
- Imaging tau, amyloid, and neurodegeneration in Primary Progressive Aphasia, Posterior Cortical Atrophy, and typical Alzheimer’s disease
- Progressive Aphasia Characterization and Tracking (PACT)
- Imaging study of adults with a known family history of inherited frontotemporal degeneration
- MGH Sleep and Aging Study
- Tracking and Characterization of Cognition Over time (TACCO)
- Neuromodulation of brain function in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
- Circuit-specific neuromodulation for the treatment of apathy in Alzheimer’s Disease