Religious Orders Study

The Religious Orders Study is a collaborative study with Rush and other U.S. medical centers. It involves more than 1,100 older religious clergy (nuns, priests and brothers) who have agreed to medical and psychological evaluation each year and brain donation after death. Researchers are using information from the study to discover what changes in the brain are responsible for memory and movement problems. The study also looks closely at the transition from normal functioning of the aging brain to the mild cognitive impairment that can be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease.