Insight 46
Insight 46 is a neuroscience sub-study of the NSHD. The study aims to investigate how life course factors and genetics influence the development of brain pathologies and impact on cognition, to provide insights into healthy brain ageing and the development of dementia.
Launched in 2015, Insight 46 recruited 502 study members selected at random from those who attended a clinical visit at 60–64 years and on whom relevant life course data are available. Those participants attended two clinic visits, two years apart. The team received additional funding in 2021 expand the data collection to anyone in the NSHD who is interested and eligible to travel to London for a research visit. The sub-study is ongoing and is expected to finish in 2025.
The research visits in London consist of a combination of brain imaging, biosampling and a clinical interview, including:
- Multi-modal MR imaging with concurrent acquisition of β-amyloid or tau PET imaging,
- A neurological examination including assessment of gait and parkinsonian signs,
- An enhanced cognitive assessment,
- Sensitive tests of vision, hearing and smell,
- Blood and urine sampling, and DNA collection,
- Detailed cardiovascular testing,
- Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT),
- Bone density scan (DEXA), and
- A lumbar puncture.
Combining these metrics with the extensive life course data already obtained from study members provides a unique opportunity to investigate the causes and consequences of various brain pathologies, to explore the differences between normal and abnormal brain ageing, and to identify a presymptomatic phase of dementia for future clinical trials aiming to prevent cognitive decline.
The Insight 46 recruitment and protocol papers for the original sub-study (2015 – 2018) and the expanded data collection (2021 – ongoing) are available to view.
Accessing Insight 46 data
Most of the Insight 46 data collected at the first wave of clinic visits is available via Skylark, and access to these data can be requested in the same way as for the other NSHD variables.
The Insight 46 datasets currently include, but are not limited to:
- ApoE Status
- Amyloid status (positive/negative)
- Brain volumetric data, including volume of white matter hyperintensity
- Anthropometry
- Family history of neurological conditions
- Medication usage
- Cognitive test results – including ad8, mci, scd and MyCog, mmse and others
- Audiometry
For a quick way to view all available variables from the Insight 46 neuroscience sub-study,
- log into Skylark
- make a Year search
- select ‘2016’ for the Insight phase 1 data (2015 – 2018) or select ‘2018-2021’ for the Insight 46 phase 2 (2018 – 2021) data.
Phases 1 and 2 of Insight 46 were primarily funded by grants from Alzheimer’s Research UK, the Medical Research Council Dementias Platform UK, and The Wolfson Foundation. Phase 3 is principally funded by the Alzheimer’s Association. Additional funding for Insight 46 data collection and analyses has been awarded by The Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, Guarantors of Brain, The Galen and Hilary Weston Foundation, Brain Research UK, the British Heart Foundation, and the National Brain Appeal. AVID Radiopharmaceuticals (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly) provided the [18F]florbetapir Aβ PET tracer in kind during phases 1 and 2. Life Molecular Imaging, part of Life Healthcare’s Alliance Medical, provides the [18F]florbetaben Aβ PET tracer in kind during phase 3. Neither AVID Radiopharmaceuticals nor Life Molecular Imaging had any part in the design of the study.