Dementia Prevention Research Clinic

The Clinic opened in 2016 and was the first of a national network of clinics established by BRNZ.

Led by Associate Professor Lynette Tippett and Dr Phil Wood, the Auckland Clinic is run collaboratively between expert clinicians and researchers from Brain Research New Zealand.

The DPRC is at the frontline of collaborative research studies involving individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and those with very early Alzheimer’s disease. The DPRC enables cutting-edge research to identify factors that influence the progression from MCI to dementia.

The clinics offer an exciting opportunity for people in the earliest stages of dementia to join a longitudinal study that holds promise for future research findings.

When patients and their families attend the dementia clinic, they will typically undergo a detailed characterisation of their brain health and lifestyle. Blood tests and MRI scans are conducted and this data provides invaluable information to neuroscientists and clinicians attempting to identify biomarkers and clinical markers of disease.

The DPRC collects holistic information by listening to the experiences of the research participants, family members and caregivers. Clinic participants are monitored longitudinally and are invited to participate in a broad range of studies and preliminary clinical trials by researchers at BRNZ.

This could include testing novel drugs, nutritional supplements, and cognitive, social and physical interventions designed to prevent, delay or ameliorate MCI and other related dementias.