2023 Alzheimer's Association Research Fellowship to Promote Diversity (AARF-D)
Integration of Clinical Trial MRI data to Neuroimaging Big Data Analytics
How do brain changes associated with cardiovascular risk factors impact risk for cognitive decline?
Sindhuja Tirumalai Govindarajan, Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA - United States
Background
Many researchers believe that there is not a single cause of Alzheimer’s but rather it develops over time as a result of interactions between multiple factors, including lifestyle, environment, and genetics. Studies suggest that risk for Alzheimer’s may be associated with cardiometabolic (cardiovascular and metabolism (energy production) health (such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and obesity). The complex interactions among co-occurring cardiometabolic risk factors in middle-aged individuals contribute to brain changes that can be observed with brains scans (structural magnetic resonance imaging, sMRI). For clinicians and researchers, it can be challenging to separate the brain changes associated with cardiometabolic risk factors and those associated with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and to understand the interactions between these risk factors and cognitive decline. Understanding this distinction is important, especially in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s treatments.
In previous work, Dr. Sindhuja Govindarajan and colleagues used sophisticated computer science methods (machine learning and pattern analysis) to identify distinct brain scan signatures associated with five cardiometabolic risk factors.
Research Plan
Dr. Govindarajan and colleagues believe that personalized, cardiometabolic risk-specific sMRI markers may be useful in estimating the severity of disease and monitoring disease progression in individuals participating in randomized controlled trials of Alzheimer’s interventions. They will measure the effects of interventions for cardiometabolic risk factors in large datasets, including the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), using individualized brain imaging markers for aging, Alzheimer’s-related brain changes, and cardiometabolic risk factors. Additionally, the team will study how well the sMRI markers associated with cardiometabolic risk factors predict long-term clinical, cognitive, and brain health outcomes.
Impact
The results may be useful in future clinical trials of interventions that target cardiometabolic conditions or Alzheimer’s. The findings may lead to future studies targeting high-risk individuals and personalized interventions for the prevention or treatment of Alzheimer’s.