R01AG070937

The Emory Healthy Brain Study: Discovering Predictive Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease - Abstract/Summary

Progress in understanding Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) is close to producing more effective treatments, creating an urgent need for disease-predictive biomarkers to guide their use. Using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measurements of beta-amyloid and tau and positron-emission tomography tracers, we can detect AD pathology in cognitively normal individuals. However, current tools do not allow us to predict when or even if an individual with asymptomatic pathology will develop symptoms.

To address this need, we propose to longitudinally study 3000 cognitively normal individuals (50-75 years at enrollment) in the Emory Healthy Brain Study to define the frequency of asymptomatic AD and rates of cognitive decline in a racially diverse cohort of healthy individuals (Specific Aim 1). An important goal of Aim 1 is to achieve 33% African-American participants to provide sufficient power to address questions regarding race- and sex-dependent differences in biomarkers and risk of cognitive decline.

Participants will be phenotyped biennially with cognitive testing, cardiovascular physiology, brain MRI, and blood and CSF collection. Cross-sectional (Specific Aim 2) and longitudinal analyses (Specific Aim 3) will test the hypothesis that biomarkers of synaptic, vascular, myelination, glial immunity, and metabolic functions will identify subgroups who are at the greatest risk of progressing to symptomatic AD. Candidate biomarkers will be identified through state-of-the-art proteomics, MR imaging, and statistical methods.

A highly collaborative data and biospecimen sharing plan will allow other investigators to leverage these resources to advance a broad spectrum of ADRD research.

Emory University

TO ENCOURAGE BIOMEDICAL, SOCIAL, AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING DIRECTED TOWARD GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE AGING PROCESS AND THE DISEASES, SPECIAL PROBLEMS, AND NEEDS OF PEOPLE AS THEY AGE. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING HAS ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS TO PURSUE THESE GOALS. THE DIVISION OF AGING BIOLOGY EMPHASIZES UNDERSTANDING THE BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF AGING. THE DIVISION OF GERIATRICS AND CLINICAL GERONTOLOGY SUPPORTS RESEARCH TO IMPROVE THE ABILITIES OF HEALTH CARE PRACTITIONERS TO RESPOND TO THE DISEASES AND OTHER CLINICAL PROBLEMS OF OLDER PEOPLE. THE DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL RESEARCH SUPPORTS RESEARCH THAT WILL LEAD TO GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT BOTH THE PROCESS OF GROWING OLD AND THE PLACE OF OLDER PEOPLE IN SOCIETY. THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE FOSTERS RESEARCH CONCERNED WITH THE AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE RELATED SENSORY, PERCEPTUAL, AND COGNITIVE PROCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH AGING AND HAS A SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION.

93.866 - Aging Research

National Institute on Aging (NIA) [HHS - NIH]

Georgia United States

State-Wide

Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-19-070)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 393% from $7,125,379 to $35,158,235.