RF1AG091502

IMPACT OF CIRCULATING LEVELS OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING TOXICANTS ON COGNITION, BRAIN ACTIVITY AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE BIOMARKERS ACROSS THE MENOPAUSAL TRANSITION - PROJECT SUMMARY ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) IS A PROGRESSIVE NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDER THAT SEVERELY HINDERS QUALITY OF LIFE. IT IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEMENTIA IN THE ELDERLY, AND DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS WOMEN. NOT ONLY ARE WOMEN MORE LIKELY TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH AD, BUT WHEN THEY ARE, THEY SHOW STEEPER RATES OF EPISODIC MEMORY DECLINE, THE HALLMARK CLINICAL SYMPTOM OF AD, AND HIGHER LEVELS OF BRAIN-BASED PATHOLOGY, BOTH IN LIFE AND POSTMORTEM. BY CAPITALIZING UPON RECENT TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN TOXICOLOGICAL AND STEROID HORMONE ASSAY TECHNIQUES, THIS PROJECT WILL TEST WHETHER, WHEN AND HOW EXPOSURE TO ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS DURING THE MENOPAUSAL TRANSITION MODIFIES COGNITION, BRAIN ACTIVITY AND BLOOD-BASED AD BIOMARKERS. THE RESULTS OF THIS STUDY WILL HAVE IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF POTENTIALLY MODIFIABLE FACTORS THAT IMPART INCREASED RISK FOR AD, AS WELL AS THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF SEX-BASED DISPARITIES IN THIS DEVASTATING NEUROLOGICAL DISEASE.

University Of Southern California

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]

California United States

State-Wide

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