Contribution of child development, biological aging, and beta-amyloid to cognitive function of the Louisville twins at midlife
Description: PROJECT NARRATIVE The biological determinants of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) are established decades before clinical symptoms of cognitive decline, memory loss and functional decline are observed. As age is the most reliable predictor of ADRD, the proposed study will test whether biological age, as opposed to chronological age, predicts higher levels of preclinical AD biomarkers, as measured with a highly reliable plasma beta-amyloid (Aβ) marker, and whether Aβ accumulation contributes to cognitive decline in midlife in a well-established longitudinal twin sample, the Louisville Twin Study. The nature of this twin design will inform causal pathways between early life development, biological age, Aβ, and cognitive functioning at midlife, shedding light on genetic and environmental mechanisms that promote risk and resilience of preclinical AD.
Funder: National Institute on Aging
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: R01
Start date: 2019-09-01
End date: 2026-04-30
Investigator: CHRISTOPHER RYAN BEAM
Institution: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Funded outputs count: 17
Funder award ID: R01AG063949
OpenAlex ID: G3140982274