MemClin

Stockholm MemClin is a project that began on a small scale in 2016 and has since expanded, with most of Stockholm's cognitive clinics joining the project since 2019. The purpose is, among other things, to enhance understanding of how cognitive diseases manifest at different stages in the group of individuals seeking care at cognitive clinics. Cognition is the scientific term for mental functions such as memory and attention. Neurocognitive disorder was previously and partially still are referred to as dementia, a term that continues to be in use. Examples of disorders include Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body, neurocognitive disorder associated with Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, and vascular dementia.

Unlike many other databases, MemClin is a naturalistic database. This means that MemClin closely mimics clinical reality and complexity, without any exclusion criteria for patients participating in the study. Neurocognitive disorders often develop gradually, ranging from normal cognition to impaired cognitive function in one or more cognitive areas. The first step on the cognitive spectrum is subjective complaints (SCI), where the individual experiences difficulties such as for example memory issues but still performs normally on cognitive tests for their age. This is followed by mild cognitive impairment (MCI), where cognitive test performance is affected, and finally, neurocognitive disorder/dementia, where cognitive test results are more significantly impacted, and the patient experiences greater difficulties in daily life.

During normal aging, it is also common to perceive a decline in cognitive capacity compared to youth. Distinguishing normal cognitive ageing from cognitive disorder in the early stages can be challenging. Additionally, diagnosing cognitive diseases is complicated by the fact that cognition can be influenced by other life factors, such as stress, depression, or grief. Furthermore, other common diseases or conditions can temporarily or permanently affect cognition, making it challenging to determine whether it is a neurocognitive disorder or not in the early stages.

Purpose

The goal of MemClin is to generate new knowledge about how cognitive test profiling, brain imaging, cerebrospinal (CSF) biomarkers, and other health assessments predict the development over time from SCI through MCI to neurocognitive disorder/dementia in a large-scale naturalistic environment. By increasing understanding of the complexity of neurocognitive disorders, we can better comprehend the significant overlap between different disorders and gain a clearer understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms.

An additional objective is to improve the ability to differentiate between rarer neurocognitive disorders such as Lewy Body, neurocognitive associated with Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, as well as vascular dementia. The aim is for the MemClin project to lead to earlier and more accurate cognitive diagnoses for patients. The clinical perspective and population-based nature of the MemClin project increase the possibilities of implementing reliable research results into clinical practice.

Steering committee

The Steering Committee provides overall guidance and reviews MemClin study research efforts in line with established goals. The committee members include:

Urban Ekman, Assistant Professor, Licensed Psychologist, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital

Eric Westman, Professor in Neurogeriatrics, Master of Science in Engineering, Karolinska Institutet

Maria Eriksdotter, Professor in Clinical Geriatrics, Chief Physician, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital

Lars-Olof Wahlund, Professor in Clinical Geriatrics, Chief Physician, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital

For collaboration inquiries

MemClin is a unique clinical research database, and we are open to collaboration. If you are interested in conducting research using MemClin data, please send an email to urban.ekman@ki.se to make an inquiry.

Scientific publications from MemClin

Ekman, U., D. Ferreira, J. S. Muehlboeck, J. Wallert, A. Rennie, M. Eriksdotter, L.-O. Wahlund & E. Westman (2020) The MemClin project: a prospective multi memory clinics study targeting early stages of cognitive impairment. BMC geriatrics., 20, 93.

Wallert, J., A. Rennie, D. Ferreira, J. S. Muehlboeck, L.-O. Wahlund, E. Westman & U. Ekman (2021) Cognitive dedifferentiation as a function of cognitive impairment in the ADNI and MemClin cohorts. Aging (Albany, NY.), 13, 13430-13442.

Gyllenhammar, M., A. Rennie, D. F. Padilla, J. Wallert, A. Rydström, L.-O. Wahlund, M. Eriksdotter, E. Westman & U. Ekman (2023) The Association Between Temporal Atrophy and Episodic Memory Is Moderated by Education in a Multi-Center Memory Clinic Sample. Journal of Alzheimer's disease.

Rennie, A., U. Ekman, J. Wallert, J. S. Muehlboeck, M. Eriksdotter, L.-O. Wahlund, D. Ferreira & E. Westman (2023) Comparing three neuropsychological subgrouping approaches in subjective and mild cognitive impairment from a naturalistic multicenter study. Neurobiology of aging, 129, 41-49.

Ongoing research projects with data från MemClin

Currently we have several ongoing research projects with MemClin-data. MemClin-data have also contributed to master theses for students from the medical and psychologist programs (including the autumn 2024 semester MemClin has generated five, where several have been reworked to scientific publications). We also combine data from MemClin with other research cohorts to better generalise the results to the clinical praxis. Research questions include a broad aim to understand the neurocognitive disorders progress. We evaluate aspects from cognitive testing to different biological measures, their role regarding symptoms and their interactions with each other. Published articles will be linked to on this page. 

Funding

We have gratefully received research funding from the following funding sources:

• the regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF)
• Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet)
• Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forskningsrådet för hälsa, arbetsliv och välfärd - FORTE)
• CIMED
• Demensfonden
• Loo and Hans Osterman Foundation for Medical Research
• Foundation for Aging-Related Diseases at Karolinska Institutet (Stiftelsen för ålderssjukdomar vid Karolinska Institutet)