# Quantification of ARIA During the Treatment of Alzheimer's Patients

> **NIH NIH R44** · CORTECHS LABS, INC. · 2024 · $295,759

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by β-amyloid deposits and neurofibrillary tangles preceding
neuronal loss and cognitive decline. The overall goal of this proposal is to detect and quantify
treatment-related changes and abnormalities in Alzheimer patients’ brains using MR images
while patients are undergoing amyloid clearing drug treatment. We will develop and validate the
lesion detection and quantification software and deploy it as a clinically usable tool. Current
detection of ARIA lesions depends on visual detection by trained radiologists. In recent years,
multiple amyloid deposit modifying drugs have been developed and used in trials with
Alzheimer's disease patients. During these drug trials, it is not uncommon that some patients
developed imaging abnormalities in the brain and clinical symptoms. These amyloid-related
imaging abnormalities (ARIA) manifest as intracerebral hemorrhage (ARIA-H), and vasogenic
edema (ARIA-E). With the recent FDA approval of amyloid-targeting monoclonal antibody
aducanumab in Alzheimer’s disease, brain imaging has become an indispensable tool to
monitor the patients’ brains during therapy. The current recommendation on use of the amyloid
clearing drug aducanumab is to have MRIs prior to initiating therapy, during the titration of the
drug, and at any time the patient has symptoms suggestive of ARIA. It is recommended to have
dose interruption or treatment discontinuation for symptomatic ARIA and moderate-severe
ARIA. In addition, Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy (CAA) patients also experience ARIA-like
lesions in their brains and MRI is the recommended imaging modality to monitor the CAA
progression. One would expect that in the near future amyloid deposit modifying drugs will be
used in autosomal dominant AD, or other amyloid related diseases such as Levy body dementia
concomitant with amyloid beta accumulation, or Down syndrome where amyloid plaques and
symptoms of dementia develops later in midlife of the patients. Therefore, a treatment
monitoring brain imaging software will have an important role in terms of patient care in a wider
set of disease entities where patients are given amyloid clearing drugs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10917839
- **Project number:** 1R44AG079694-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** CORTECHS LABS, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** AZIZ M ULUG
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $295,759
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10917839

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10917839, Quantification of ARIA During the Treatment of Alzheimer's Patients (1R44AG079694-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-20 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10917839. Licensed CC0.

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