mind-matters-ss2020.pdf
... ADRC and Barlow Clinic registered! • Dr. Ricardo Osorio presented our very first Learn at Home series ... ://time.com/5809322/social-dis- tancing-book-clubs/ • Tolstoy Together: read War and Peace only a few pages a day ...
Mechanisms of Sleep Deficiency and Effects on Brain injury and Neurocognitive Functions among Older Blacks
The multi-disciplinary team will utilize innovative dynamic and geospatial modeling in a multi-level framework to delineate the psycho social and environmental determinants of SD and its putative effects on the brain health of older blacks.
Locus-coeruleus function in normal elderly and AD risk (LEAD)
Growing evidence suggests that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathological changes begin decades before clinical symptoms and tau abnormalities in the locus coeruleus (LC) can be observed since midlife. We have previously demonstrated functional vulnerability of the LC to aging and stress, as well as an association between higher CSF tau and impaired sleep phenomena influenced by the LC. We now aim to test whether LC dysfunction can be measured in preclinical AD stages by LC targeted imaging, and whether it objectively affects sleep architecture and attention; by asking 30 cognitively normal older adults to perform a full clinical evaluation, one night of polysomnography, a lumbar puncture (LP) to obtain cerebrospinal fluid, [11C]MRB PET-MR, as well as attention testing.
Racial diffErences in the aSsociation Of sLow waVe slEep aNd Tau (RESOLVENT II)
This pilot proposal will examine whether racial differences exist in the association between SWS/SWA and in-vivo regional tau-PET signal for a given level of global Aß burden. To generate preliminary data for a larger R01 application, we will leverage data and resources from NYU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC NYULH STUDY ID#: s20-00427) and two affiliated ongoing NIH supported R01 studies (2R01AG056031 NYULH STUDY ID#: s17-01005 and 1R01AG056531 NYULH STUDY ID#: s18-01302). Altogether, subjects will include 100 cognitively normal (50 blacks from NYULH STUDY ID#: s18-01302 & 50 whites {35 from NYULH STUDY ID#: s17-01005 & 15 from NYULH STUDY ID#: s20-00427 ) without OSA (thereby eliminating a possible confounder of reduced SWS), ages 60-75, matched on age, sex, BMI, education and income.
SLEEP AGING AND RISK FOR ALZHEIMER S (RESUBMISSION-1)
Age-related sleep changes and common sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may increase amyloid burden and represent risk factors for cognitive decline. In this study, we will extend our prior work using home-sleep monitoring and cerebrospinal fluid collection in normal older adults by directly interrogating the brain using 2-night nocturnal polysomnography (NPSG) and amyloid deposition using C-PiB PET/MR both at baseline and at 24 month follow-up. This study has the potential to identify the mechanisms by which age-related sleep changes contribute to AD neurodegeneration in cognitively normal elderly, of whom can profit the most from sleep preventive strategies.
Cellular Viscosity as a Marker for Alzheimer s Disease Pathology: A Combined Multiparametric MR Spectroscopy and PET Study
This project proposes the use of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Fingerprinting (MRSF) to quantify changes in intracellular viscosity separately within neurons and astrocytes and assess AD pathophysiology. We will work with the NYU AD Research Center to include our MRSF sequence within their routine tau-PET/MRI protocol, allowing for serial follow-up of a cohort of 100 cognitively normal individuals and patients with mild cognitive impairment. Both sets of subjects will undergo yearly neurocognitive assessments, plasma Aß and plasma tau evaluations; and biennial Aß-PET, tau-PET, and MRI+MRSF scans. The expected outcome of this work is a set of novel markers for neuronal and astrocytic intracellular viscosity which will potentially become biomarkers for early prediction of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in AD, addressing gaps in the current imaging armamentarium of the AT(N) network.
Chronic Pain and Postoperative Cognitive Function in the Elderly: a Prospective Observational Study
To assess the possible interrelation between pre-operative chronic pain and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in the elderly, we plan to enroll patients undergoing planned surgery. To evaluate the initial pain states, pain and mood questionnaires will be used prior to surgery. To explore the potential interrelation between chronic pain and POCD, pre-, and postoperative cognitive dysfunction will be assessed using common cognitive tests. Moreover, neurocognitive biomarkers will be assessed with blood samples drawn peri- and postoperatively with optional EEG-recordings prior to and after surgery. An optional MRI will be performed in randomly assigned subjects prior to surgery.
A SINGLE-CENTER OBSERVATIONAL LONGITUDINAL STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF SLOW WAVE SLEEP (SWS) CHARACTERISTICS AND RACE AND ETHNICITY ON AMYLOID BURDEN (A MARKER OF ALZHEIMER S DISEASE RISK) AMONG COGNITIVELY NORMAL ELDERLY.
African-Americans (AAs) have an increased prevalence of both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular risk factors for AD such as diabetes and hypertension when compared to whites. This larger component of AD-dementia has traditionally been associated with vascular risk and supported by studies showing that AAs with clinical AD more frequently have mixed pathology on autopsy. However, in a recent community based study of non-demented elderly, black race was associated with higher amyloid burden after adjusting for vascular risk factors, suggesting the presence of additional physiological differences on AD-risk by race in the early stages of the disease. The purpose of this study is to test whether poor slow wave sleep (SWS) quantity (SWS duration) and quality (slow wave activity, SWA) is one of these physiological factors.
Transcranial Photobiomodulation for Alzheimer's Disease
This multi-site study will be the first to evaluate the dose-dependent effects of t-PBM in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI) and early Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) (CDR of 0.5-1, FAST 1-4; age 65-85) in a randomized clinical trial of 8 weeks of t-PBM vs. sham. At baseline, all subjects will complete initial neuropsychological testing. To elucidate mechanisms of action of t-PBM, prior to treatment, subjects will undergo neuroimaging related to critical features of AD: tau 18F MK-6240 load (PET), measures of brain bioenergetics (31P-MRS), and functional connectivity (rs-fMRI). After undergoing target engagement testing (t-PBM session performed during fMRI to detect BOLD changes with active t-PBM), subjects will then be randomized to t-PBM/sham. Subjects will then complete 24 t-PBM/sham treatments, ~6 min per day, 3 days per week, for 8 weeks. t-PBM will be administered via continuous, 808 nm wavelength laser delivery to the forehead bilaterally (at standard EEG electrode positions F4, F3).
Brain Effects of Lifetime Racial/Ethnic Discrimination on the LC-NE Function and the Risk for Alzheimer's Disease
The current biomarker classification system (i.e., the ATN model) may not fully account for racial disparity and can’t explain the increased prevalence in blacks of both AD and vascular risk factors for AD such as diabetes and hypertension when compared to whites. Postmortem studies suggest that loss of LC neurons better predicts severity of AD clinical symptoms than Aß/neurofibrillary tangle pathology in any other cortical/subcortical brain region. Our decade-long studies in humans have demonstrated a special vulnerability of LC to aging and stress. Further, our preliminary data in black and white subjects reveals that the decline rate of LC neurons is much faster in blacks starting in the mid-30s, particularly in black males. We now aim to test the hypothesis that cumulative exposure to socioeconomic disadvantage and racial discrimination may cause long-lasting changes in LC function followed by LC neuronal loss, which would explain the different AD phenotypical presentation among blacks; by asking120 cognitively normal older adults (80 blacks and 40 whites) to perform clinical evaluation, cognitive measurement, biomarkers (ATN and vascular markers) assessment, stress and discrimination scale testing, and one [11C]MRB PET-MR scan to determine NET availability.
