Grant: Summer Program in Aging

Dementia is more than just memory change. People living with or affected by dementia must also deal with changes in mood and behaviour as well as in hearing, walking, and sleep quality. But these changes can appear years or even decades before dementia, acting as red flags for those more likely to get dementia. A better understanding of these red flags, known as dementia markers, is needed in order to use them in research and patient care. My research objectives are to: 1) better understand the connections between dementia markers; 2) identify what changes in the brain underlie dementia markers; and 3) figure out which combination of dementia markers may be most effective for identifying older adults at risk. To accomplish these objectives, I will use data that I will help collect locally and across Canada, as well as existing data gathered from international sources. First, I will study whether the onset of behavioral changes such as depression or anxiety is followed by changes in thinking, memory, hearing, walking, and sleep in older adults. Second, I will use brain scans to see whether these dementia markers are accompanied by changes in the size of certain brain regions linked to Alzheimer disease, such as the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. Finally, I will combine findings from my first and second objectives to determine the best combination of dementia markers. My findings will reveal which dementia markers or red flags are the most important to look for, and what they mean in terms of whether and how soon an individual will develop dementia. My research will help people know whether they are likely to develop dementia, potentially years or decades before it happens, allowing them to plan ahead for living with dementia, receive earlier care for it, and participate in research to develop treatments that will make dementia less devastating or even preventable. Reducing the number and severity of health conditions will allow better health while living longer.