Cohort Descriptives

Variable Response
Cohort Name Bristol Research into Alzheimer's and Care for the Elderly
Cohort Acronym BRACE
DOI Tales, A. (2019). BRACE [Data set]. Dementias Platform UK. https://doi.org/10.48532/008000
Study Overview The BRACE database records clinical activity for the Memory Disorders Clinic between 1994-2006 when the Clinic closed. The Clinic emphasised the development of psychological assessments over several visits, reflecting the spectrum of change in patients' cognitive ability over this time. Patients' medical, social, and family history were obtained, as well as results of full clinical examinations, blood tests, CT and MRI scans. The Clinic was one of two in England which were testing medications to manage the effects of Alzheimer's disease. This included a study which showed that Galantamine was an effective treatment for improving cognition, ultimately leading to it being licenced for use. It is now one of the medications available to manage the effects of Alzheimer's.
#Subjects at Baseline 2389
Institution Name University of Bristol
Department Name North Bristol Trust
City Bristol
Study/Database Website

https://www.alzheimers-brace.org/

Key Study References

Please see publications

Population Based Study? No
Family Based Study? No
Clinical based sample? Yes
Is there follow-up data available? No
Were participants included prior to development of dementia (may refer to controls only)? Yes
Were participants included prior to development of MCI (may refer to controls only)? Yes
How is data collected? In person
Who carries out data collection? Clincians
Does this take place in participants' homes or at a central location? Central location
Do participants take part individually or are families/partners involved? Individually
Dementia cases ascertained as part of study: Yes
Diagnosis based on review of existing clinical data Yes
Study start date 1994
Is study ongoing? No
Is study still recruiting? No
Inclusion criteria Patients who attended the Memory Disorders Clinic in Bristol between 1994-2006.

Administration

Variable type
Consent To Approach For Update Of Patient
Date Of Initial Visit
Gender Of Patient
ID Number
Patient's Date Of Birth
Patient's Date Of Death
Referral Date
Status Of Referred Person

Sociodemographic

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Education Years of full time education Y Y
Employment Occupation Y Y
Marital Status Patient's marital status Y  

Family History

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Extended Family history of dementia Y  
Extended Whether other relatives suffer/suffered from dementia Y  
Father Father suffers/suffered from dementia Y  
Father Father's age now/at death Y  
Father Father alive or dead Y  
Mother Mother suffers/suffered from dementia Y  
Mother Mother's age now/at death Y  
Mother Mother alive or dead Y  
Siblings Patient's number of siblings Y  

Early Life History

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Handedness Ambidextrous Y Y
Handedness Right/left handed Y Y

Physical Health Status

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Cardiothoracic History of angina Y  
Cardiothoracic History of heart attack Y  
Cardiothoracic History of hypertension/high blood pressure Y  
Cerebrovascular History of stroke/CVA Y  
Cerebrovascular History of transient ischaemic attack Y  
Endocrinology History of endocrine disorder Y  
Endocrinology Thyroid appearance Y Y
ENT Hearing problems Y  
Eyes Visual problems Y  
Gastrointestinal Abdominal examination Y Y
General Health Falls in the last 6 months Y Y
General Health Fractures suffered in last 6 months Y Y
General Health History of cold sores Y  
General Health History of head injury Y  
General Health History of meningitis Y  
General Health Speech abnormality Y Y
Immunology Allergies present Y  
Neurological Apraxia Y Y
Neurological Current expressive/receptive aphasia Y Y
Neurological History of epilepsy Y  
Neurological Visual agnosia Y Y

Healthcare Utilisation

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Medications Date started/stopped cholinesterase inhibitor treatment Y Y
Medications Name of cholinesterase inhibitor prescribed Y Y
Medications Names of drugs currently taken by patient Y Y
Social Care Patient's date of admission to residential/nursing home Y  

Life Functionality

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Daily Living Bristol Activities of Daily Living Scale Y Y

Psychological Status

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Quality Of Life Deterioration in hygiene Y Y
Sleep Lethargy Y Y
Sleep Sleep problems Y Y
Wellbeing Present state Y Y
Self-report psychological status Social Decline Y Y
Self-report psychological status Agitation Y Y
Self-report psychological status Psychiatric assessment Y Y

Mental Health Status

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Disorders Delusion Y Y
Disorders Hallucination Y Y
Disorders Irritability over appetite Y Y
Mood Aggression Y Y
Mood Anxiety Y Y
Mood Apathy Y Y
Mood Attention and concentration problems Y Y
Mood Cornell scale for depression in dementia Y Y
Mood Depression Y Y
Mood Disinhibition Y Y
Mood Euphoria Y Y
Mood Obsessive and/or ritualistic behaviour Y Y

Cognition

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Cognitive Performance Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE) Y Y
Cognitive Performance CLOX drawing tests Y Y
Cognitive Performance Comprehension Y Y
Cognitive Performance Concentration/distractibility Y Y
Cognitive Performance Delayed recognition Y Y
Cognitive Performance Demographic IQ Y Y
Cognitive Performance Digit copying tests Y Y
Cognitive Performance Face recognition Y Y
Cognitive Performance Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) Y Y
Cognitive Performance National Adult Reading Test (NART) Y Y
Cognitive Performance Planning, sequencing, organising Y Y
Cognitive Performance Remembering test instructions Y Y
Cognitive Performance Spoken language/word finding difficulty Y Y
Cognitive Performance Story recall test Y Y
Cognitive Performance Timed Up and Go (TUG) test Y Y
Cognitive Performance Trail making tests Y Y
Cognitive Performance Verbal fluency Y Y
Cognitive Performance Verbal learning Y Y
Cognitive Performance Visual Form Discrimination Test Y Y
Cognitive Performance WAIS-III Y Y
Cognitive Performance Weigl's colour form sorting test Y Y
Cognitive Status Clinical Dementia Rating score Y Y
Cognitive Status First diagnosis of dementia Y Y
Cognitive Status Hachinski Ischaemic score Y Y
Cognitive Status History of Parkinson's disease Y  
Cognitive Status Most likely causes of cognitive impairment Y Y
Cognitive Status Most likely causes of dementia Y Y
Cognitive Status Possible/probable Alzheimer's disease Y Y
Cognitive Status Possible/probable dementia with Lewy bodies Y Y
Cognitive Status Possible/probable vascular dementia Y Y
Cognitive Status Probable frontotemporal dementia Y Y
Cognitive Status Psychiatric assessment Y Y
Self Report Cognitive Status Age at which memory loss noticed Y  
Self Report Cognitive Status CERAD question on insight Y Y
Self Report Cognitive Status Current memory loss Y Y
Self Report Cognitive Status Number of months since start of memory loss Y  
Self Report Cognitive Status Spatial/temporal disorientation Y Y

Lifestyle

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Alcohol Units of alcohol per week (past/present) Y  
Alcohol Years of/since max alcohol consumption Y  
Diet Appetite problems Y Y
Physical History of boxing or football as adult Y  
Smoking Cigarette equivalent per week Y  
Smoking Whether patient ever smoked/smokes now Y  
Smoking Year stopped smoking Y  
Smoking Years as smoker Y  
Travel Currently driving Y  

Physical Environment

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Housing Patient's accommodation type Y  

Physical Examination

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Brain Cerebellar signs Y Y
Brain Cranial nerve examination Y Y
Brain Electrical activity of brain measured with electrodes to scalp Y  
Brain Motor/extra pyramidal symptoms Y Y
Eye Retinal examination Y Y
Eye Visual field examination Y Y
Heart Carotid bruits Y Y
Heart Heart rhythm Y Y
Heart Heart sounds normal Y Y
Heart Peripheral pulse absent Y Y
Heart Pulse rate (bpm) Y Y
Heart Systolic/diastolic blood pressure Y Y
Lung Respiratory examination Y Y
Mobility Gait abnormality Y Y
Mobility Grasp reflex Y Y
Mobility Jaw jerk Y Y
Mobility Snout reflex Y Y
Mobility Sucking reflex Y Y
Mobility Wandering Y Y
Sensory Pinprick sense Y Y
Sensory Proprioceptive sense Y Y
Sensory Touch sense Y Y
Sensory Vibration sense Y Y

Biosample Assays

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Biochemistry ALA aminotransferase Y  
Biochemistry Albumin Y  
Biochemistry Alkaline phosphatase Y  
Biochemistry Bilirubin Y  
Biochemistry Calcium Y  
Biochemistry Creatinine Y  
Biochemistry Other lab tests Y  
Biochemistry Potassium Y  
Biochemistry Random glucose Y  
Biochemistry Serum cell folate Y  
Biochemistry Sodium Y  
Biochemistry Thyroid stimulating hormone Y  
Biochemistry Total protein Y  
Biochemistry Urea Y  
Biochemistry Vitamin B12 Y  
Haematology Blood cholesterol Y  
Haematology Haematocrit Y  
Haematology Haemoglobin Y  
Haematology Mast cell volume Y  
Haematology Plasma viscosity Y  
Haematology Platelet count Y  
Haematology Red/white blood cell count Y  
Immunology Veneral Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test for syphilis indication Y  

Genomics

Sub-category Variable type Baseline Follow-Up
Genotyping Patient agreed to donate blood sample for genotyping Y