Grant: Operating Grant - PA: Aging - Optimizing population health and wellness

Alzheimer's disease represents a mounting challenge to our nation's healthcare system. Individuals that suffer from Alzheimer's disease typically suffer from an illness known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) first. Our preliminary data for this application shows that those individuals that convert from MCI to Alzheimer's demonstrate patterns of brain degeneration that are detectable at least one year before they convert. We then analyzed the neuroanatomy of individuals that were stable at MCI over the course of one year found that known genes that augment risk for disease may also predict this pattern of brain degeneration. The goal of this proposal is to combine genetic and magnetic resonance imaging data to provide a more accurate index of this conversion. A successful application will have a broad impact on health care and may provide potential targets for drug development.