R01NS134043

The contribution of repetitive head impacts and social determinants of health to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia in older adult black men - Abstract.

Black Americans face nearly double the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related compared to whites. Black American men may be at increased risk for late-life neurological disorders associated with exposure to repetitive head impacts (RHI) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) from contact sports participation and other risk factors.

Exposure to RHI/TBI is linked with late-life cognitive impairment, neuropsychiatric disturbances, and structural brain changes. Black racial identity and exposure to RHI/TBI has been shown to have an additive effect on MRI metrics of atrophy and cerebrospinal fluid neurodegenerative disease proteins.

These neurological disparities might be explained by social determinants of health (SDOH) (e.g., education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood environment), which might affect resistance and resilience to other neurological disorders from RHI/TBI. SDOH factors might indeed contribute to neurological outcomes in adult black men irrespective of RHI/TBI.

Yet, there has been persistent under-representation of blacks in biomedical and health research, including among studies of the late effects of RHI from American football play. The overarching goal of this study is to examine the impact of RHI/TBI from American football and the contribution of early-life SDOH to later-life cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms, structural MRI features, and plasma biomarkers in black male former American football athletes and non-RHI/TBI exposed black men.

We will recruit 100 black male former American football athletes (across all levels of play and cognitive continuum, 50+ years) and 100 age-matched black males without RHI/TBI. Participants will enroll to complete harmonized cognitive and neuropsychiatric tests, MRI, and blood draw to assess neurodegenerative disease proteins. A battery of questionnaires (e.g., adverse childhood experiences, childhood-experiences survey, ShareLife survey) will be administered to assess SDOH.

In Aim 1, we will investigate the association between RHI/TBI and later-life cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms in black male former American football athletes. Aim 2 will investigate the association between RHI/TBI and later-life biomarkers of AD, p-tau, and neurodegeneration outcomes in black male former American football athletes. Aim 3 will examine the contribution of SDOH to later-life cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms and later-life biomarkers of AD, p-tau, and neurodegeneration outcomes.

Our hypotheses are that (1) RHI/TBI will be associated with worse cognitive and neuropsychiatric function and compromised structural gray/white matter in black former football players; (2) impoverished SDOH will increase risk and reduce resilience to the late-life effects of RHI/TBI; and (3) impoverished SDOH will mediate the effects of RHI on late-life neurological outcomes.

This R01 will discover the role of RHI/TBI and SDOH in older black men. We will address racial disparities present in data on late-life neurological outcomes from RHI/TBI to facilitate accurate disease detection and diagnosis at the individual-level.

Duke University

(1) TO SUPPORT EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE (NINDS) INCLUDING: BASIC RESEARCH THAT EXPLORES THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN AND THE NERVOUS SYSTEM; RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND THE CAUSES AND ORIGINS OF PATHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH THE GOAL OF PREVENTING THESE DISORDERS; RESEARCH ON THE NATURAL COURSE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS; IMPROVED METHODS OF DISEASE PREVENTION; NEW METHODS OF DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT; DRUG DEVELOPMENT; DEVELOPMENT OF NEURAL DEVICES; CLINICAL TRIALS; AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE. THE INSTITUTE IS THE LARGEST FUNDER OF BASIC NEUROSCIENCE IN THE US AND SUPPORTS RESEARCH ON TOPICS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: DEVELOPMENT OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCLUDING NEUROGENESIS AND PROGENITOR CELL BIOLOGY, SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN DEVELOPMENT AND PLASTICITY, AND PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH; SYNAPSE FORMATION, FUNCTION, AND PLASTICITY; LEARNING AND MEMORY; CHANNELS, TRANSPORTERS, AND PUMPS; CIRCUIT FORMATION AND MODULATION; BEHAVIORAL AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE; SENSORIMOTOR LEARNING, INTEGRATION AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION; NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEMS; SLEEP AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS; AND SENSORY AND MOTOR SYSTEMS. IN ADDITION, THE INSTITUTE SUPPORTS BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES ON A NUMBER OF DISORDERS OF THE NERVOUS SYSTEM INCLUDING (BUT NOT LIMITED TO): STROKE; TRAUMATIC INJURY TO THE BRAIN, SPINAL CORD AND PERIPHERAL NERVOUS SYSTEM; NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS; MOVEMENT DISORDERS; BRAIN TUMORS; CONVULSIVE DISORDERS; INFECTIOUS DISORDERS OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM; IMMUNE DISORDERS OF THE BRAIN AND NERVOUS SYSTEM, INCLUDING MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS; DISORDERS RELATED TO SLEEP; AND PAIN. PROGRAMMATIC AREAS, WHICH ARE PRIMARILY SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF NEUROSCIENCE, ARE ALSO SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES, THE DIVISION OF TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH, THE DIVISION OF CLINICAL RESEARCH, THE OFFICE OF TRAINING AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE OFFICE OF PROGRAMS TO ENHANCE THE NEUROSCIENCE WORKFORCE, AND THE OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES. (2) TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (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. TO UTILIZE THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM; TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND 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 of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NNDS) [HHS - NIH]

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

Durham, North Carolina 277104000 United States

Single Zip Code

Research on Current Topics in Alzheimer's Disease and Its Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-22-093)

Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been extended from 07/31/28 to 02/28/29 and the total obligations have increased 196% from $1,293,471 to $3,830,794.