Understanding and treating dementia starts with the patients. Through the Trønderbrain project at the Department of Neurology, St. Olav's Hospital, we have built a biobank and a well-characterized cohort of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. This resource has already contributed to the discovery of new biomarkers.

We continue to recruit patients with Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, people in preclinical stages, and healthy controls. All participants undergo longitundal advanced clinical assessments, blood and cerebrospinal fluid sampling, MRI scans, and in some cases PET imaging. Our aim is to identify simple, precise, and cost-effective biomarkers for early diagnosis—and factors that might protect the brain.

One exciting finding from our group involves the longevity protein Klotho, which appears to have a possible protective effect against Alzheimer’s disease. Our research showed that higher Klotho levels in cerebrospinal fluid were linked to lower amyloid and tau burden (Grøntvedt et al., 2022)—two hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. This suggests Klotho may slow disease progression and support cognitive resilience. We are now exploring Klotho as a biomarker and potential therapeutic target, especially in preclinical phases of the disease.

We also study how the brain uses energy, a process that changes early in Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. Using patient-derived cell cultures, animal models, and advanced MRI techniques, we aim to understand these changes and discover new biomarkers to guide future treatments.

Finally, we investigate epigenetic changes—chemical marks on DNA that affect how genes are read. These changes may help predict where Alzheimer’s disease starts in the brain, how it spreads, and what we can do to stop it.