Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice has registered and is actively recruiting participants for a trial that will measure mitochondrial function and metabolic markers in blood rather than in brain tissue, testing whether cellular energy metabolism outside the brain can flag Alzheimer's disease and related dementias earlier. The study, known as AMPAlz and listed on ClinicalTrials.gov as NCT06880406, is titled "Early Alterations of Peripheral Mitochondrial Function and Metabolomic Profile in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias." Recruitment began on July 1, 2025, according to the registration, and the hospital's own status update, verified in June 2026, lists the trial as still open to participants.
The rationale, as stated in the trial's title and status, is to look for changes in mitochondria, the structures that generate energy inside cells, using blood samples rather than the spinal taps or brain scans now used to investigate Alzheimer's-related changes. Mitochondria and metabolism have been active areas of dementia research because energy production inside cells can be measured with blood draws, a far less invasive procedure than a lumbar puncture or a positron emission tomography scan.
The registration describes an estimated primary completion date of July 1, 2028, with the full study expected to close by April 1, 2029, meaning any findings are years away. The trial was first submitted for registration on March 7, 2025, giving the design roughly four months of internal review before recruitment opened. As with any newly opened study, the number of participants who have actually enrolled, and the exact criteria used to define which "related dementias" beyond Alzheimer's disease qualify for inclusion, are not stated in the portions of the registration reviewed for this report.