Move for Minds Panel Dr. Nancy Emerson Lombardo, Maria Shriver, Dr. Rudy Tanzi and Dr. Dennis Selkoe

Dr. Nancy and Maria before Brain Fitness Workout. Happy to Meet in Person after collaborating for 3 years

Move for Mind Volunteers and Brain Healthy and Wellness Center team members Emma and Michelle Rizzo join Dr. Nancy and Maria after the FaceBook Live panel

Dr. Nancy and Maria Shriver

6 panelists on stools Mark Hymen, Nancy, Maria Shriver, Rudy Tanzi, Dennis Selkoe and Nicole of Equinox

Exciting News from AAIC 2017 in London! ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES $20 MILLION LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION TRIAL IN THE U.S. TO PREVENT COGNITIVE DECLINE !!! This is what all of us in the brain healthy lifestyle field have been waiting for! Building on groundbreaking work in Finland and Australia.  Utilizing Alzheimer’s Association Chapters and Community Resources to keep costs down and create a scalable, practical intervention LONDON, July 19, 2017 – The Alzheimer’s Association today announced the launch of a $20 million U.S. two-year clinical trial to test the ability of a multi-dimensional lifestyle intervention to prevent cognitive decline and dementia in 2,500 older adults with no current cognitive symptoms but who are at increased risk for later cognitive decline. The announcement was made at the 2017 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC 2017) in London. The large U.S. study to PrOtect through a lifestyle INTErvention to Reduce risk (US POINTER) will include physical exercise, nutritional counseling and modification, cognitive and social stimulation, and improved self-management of medical conditions. Recruiting for the study will begin in 2018. At AAIC 2014, Miia Kivipelto, M.D., Ph.D., Professor at the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden and the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland, and colleagues reported on the results of the FINGER Study – the first randomized controlled trial showing that it is possible to prevent cognitive decline using a multi-domain lifestyle intervention among older at-risk individuals. The results highlighted the value of addressing multiple dementia risk factors as a strategy to protect brain health. The FINGER model is now being replicated in the United States, Europe, Singapore, and Australia – including people from a variety of geographical and cultural backgrounds. Maria Carillo PhD Alz Assn VP Medical and Scientific   “We now can effectively prevent and treat heart disease with a combination of drugs and lifestyle. The same is true with some cancers; the same with HIV/AIDS. The same may also be true for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in the not too distant future,” said Maria C. Carrillo, PhD, Alzheimer’s Association Chief Science Officer. “We must test all options to treat and prevent this horrible disease. We must find the answers for the millions dying with Alzheimer’s and their families, and the tens of millions more who will become affected if we do not act now. The Alzheimer’s Association is extremely proud to launch this clinical trial with our scientific partners,” Carrillo said. source: alz.org  AAIC Press releases   Read more:   U.S. study to PrOtect through a lifestyle INTErvention to Reduce risk (US POINTER) Laura D. Baker, PhD, Wake Forest Univ., Co-PI of US POINTER study Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. With the aging of the global population – and the slow progress of developing and testing drug treatments – prevention is pivotal in managing the inexorable rise in global cases of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In 2014, a large-scale two-year study in Finland in healthy older adults at increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia (the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability, or FINGER Study) found that a two-year combination therapy involving physical exercise, nutrition, cognitive stimulation, and self-monitoring of heart health risk factors had a protective effect on cognitive function. These results were first reported at AAIC 2014 in Copenhagen. According to Co-Principal Investigator Laura Baker, PhD, of the Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the U.S. study to PrOtect through a lifestyle INTErvention to Reduce risk (US POINTER) is modeled on the FINGER study. It will test whether two years of a combined intervention that includes physical exercise, nutritional counseling and modification, cognitive and social stimulation, and improved self-management of medical co-morbidities benefits cognitive function in older adults at increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia. The comparison group will receive health education and support through in-person group meetings on health- and aging-related topics, and annual feedback on laboratory tests. Starting in 2018, 2,500 study participants 60-79 years old will be identified using a medical record search to select those with medical conditions that have been linked to an increased risk for dementia (e.g., hypertension and other cardiovascular events, elevated blood sugar). Information about family history of Alzheimer’s, physical activity level, and current cognitive status and mood will be collected in follow-up interviews to further identify eligible participants. Local Alzheimer’s Association offices nationwide will participate in intervention delivery. National partnerships will be developed with community-based organizations to deliver the exercise, nutrition, social and medical aspects of the intervention. The success of the intervention will be evaluated based on two-year change in a global measure of cognitive function focused on short-term memory, attention and concentration. “As of now, there are no approved medications that have produced results similar to the FINGER Study. There is a pressing need to test the effectiveness of a multicomponent lifestyle intervention in larger and more diverse populations, such as the United States,” said Baker. “The lifestyle intervention in US POINTER is an important multi-dimensional strategy to protect brain health and potentially reduce risk of dementia.” An update on FINGER and overviews of the Singapore (SINGER) and Australia (Maintain Your Brain) prevention studies will also be reported at AAIC 2017. The worldwide effort, collectively referred to as WW-FINGERS, supports a collaborative network of trials and experienced investigators to facilitate harmonization of research methods, and sharing of experiences and data for maximum global scientific impact. Laura D. Baker, PhD, et al. U.S. Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (US-FINGER). (Funder: Alzheimer’s Association)  July 2017 AAIC 2017  London, United Kingdom source: alz.org  AAIC Press releases More about Co-PI Laura Baker, PhD, Associate Professor, Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

The post ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION LAUNCHES $20 MILLION LIFESTYLE INTERVENTION TRIAL IN THE U.S. TO PREVENT COGNITIVE DECLINE !!! first appeared on Brain Health Wellness.]]> https://brainwellness.com/2017/07/alzheimers-association-launches-20-million-lifestyle-intervention-trial-in-the-u-s-to-prevent-cognitive-decline/feed/ 2 https://brainwellness.com/2017/07/advancing-health-disparities-research-in-alzheimers-national-institute-on-aging-inaugural-grants/ https://brainwellness.com/2017/07/advancing-health-disparities-research-in-alzheimers-national-institute-on-aging-inaugural-grants/#comments Mon, 24 Jul 2017 15:12:59 +0000 https://brainwellness.com/?p=1287 According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2017 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, African-Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older whites, and Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older whites. Yet, these populations are underrepresented in Alzheimer’s and dementia research. […]

According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2017 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures, African-Americans are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older whites, and Hispanics are about one and one-half times as likely to have Alzheimer’s or other dementias as older whites. Yet, these populations are underrepresented in Alzheimer’s and dementia research.

Carl HIll, PhD, MPH, Director NIA Special Populations Office

The NIA has identified a clear need to diversify research cohorts and improve methods and tools for conducting health disparities research related to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Two funding opportunities were created to encourage research that examines disparities in Alzheimer’s disease using diverse cohorts of subjects. At AAIC 2017, NIA will announce the inaugural grant recipients and their projects, and highlight the new information expected to be generated because of these awards.

“Aging research using a framework that incorporate factors at multiple levels needs to be conducted with study populations that have robust demographic diversity,” said Carl V. Hill, PhD, MPH, Director of the NIA Office of Special Populations. “When cohorts are diverse, new pathways that link environmental, sociocultural, behavioral and biological factors can be identified. This is our hope for these research awards.”

According to the funding opportunity announcements, health disparities populations include: Blacks/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Populations, and Rural Populations. Additional populations may include: Disability Populations, and Sex and Gender Minorities.

Carl V. Hill, PhD, MPH and Rachel Whitmer, PhD, chairs. Advancing Health Disparities Research with the National Institute on Aging (NIA). (Funder: U.S. National Institute on Aging)    July 20, 2017    AAIC 2017  London, UK

Source AAIC 2017 Press Release

More about Carl Hill at NIA

The post Advancing health disparities research in Alzheimer’s – National Institute on Aging inaugural grants first appeared on Brain Health Wellness.]]>

Jorge Sepulcre, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School

According to Jorge Sepulcre, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, understanding the “spreading” phenomenon of abnormal tau and amyloid-beta proteins in the brain is critical to knowing what is causing the devastating cell damage and relentless symptoms of people with Alzheimer’s.

Sepulcre and colleagues developed a novel imaging approach to investigate the spreading pathways of tau and amyloid deposits over time, as well as their genetic vulnerabilities, in a longitudinal sample of elderly participants in the Harvard Aging Brain Study. Eighty-eight (88) study participants, average age about 76, were divided into two independent samples: (1) a cross-sectional sample of 69 people; and (2) a 1-2 year follow-up longitudinal sample of 19 subjects.

The researchers found that tau and amyloid appear to accumulate along distinctive pathways in the brain; the same communication pathways, or neural networks, we use for daily brain function. According to their findings, tau – which we know starts in the middle of the brain memory center – spreads forward and out toward the front of the brain. Amyloid, which starts in the back of the brain, spreads further back and outward from the middle. Specifically:
* Medial/inferior temporal lobe areas project pathways of Tau-spreading toward anterior pole, lateral and posteriomedial temporal cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex.
* Posterior cingulate cortex spreads Aβ toward surrounding areas and lateral parietal lobe.

The scientists discovered that 354 genes were significantly associated with the tau spreading pathway, including the MAPT gene, which was previously associated with Alzheimer’s disease risk. They also found 216 genes, including the CLU gene, significantly associated with the amyloid pathway. Additional analysis characterized the tau spreading genetic profile as “axon-related” and the amyloid-spreading genetic profile as “dendrite-related”. APOE, the gene with the highest impact on Alzheimer’s risk, was found to be the most central gene linking tau- and amyloid-spreading pathways.
“Our results reported at AAIC 2017 suggest that tau and amyloid advance through different brain systems over time,” Sepulcre said. “We also discovered certain genetic traits that may confer tau or amyloid vulnerability in the brain.”

“The findings may improve our ability to track responses to potential therapeutic interventions in the future,” Sepulcre added. “In addition, when more effective drug therapies become available, these results may help doctors determine which patients should get which therapies, and the optimum time to take them.”

Jorge Sepulcre, MD, PhD, et al. In Vivo spreading Pathways of Tau and Amyloid Accumulation and Its Genetic Underpinnings. (Funder(s): U.S. National Institutes of Health, Alzheimer’s Association)   July 2017   AAIC 2017 London, United Kingdom

source: alz.org  AAIC Press releases

Learn More about Jorge Sepulcre, MD PhD

Sleep Disordered Breathing is treatable.  Thus researchers and doctors strongly recommend treatment be sought urgently for people with sleep disordered breathing

Amanda Shim, Class 2019 at Wheaton College

Note: This is amazing work by two undergraduate women and their innovative professor and mentor, funded by Wheaton College.  The students and their professor used publicly available data from the ADNI collaborative study. 

Note: none of the 3 studies are clinical trials.  Next step might be to fund and conduct the more expensive clinical studies to “prove” whether treating sleep disordered breathing problems will slow deposition of beta amyloid and lower risk of cognitive impairment and slow the rate of progression in those who are already impaired.

Read more:

Disordered Sleep Not Good for Brain: Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Are Associated With Amyloid Deposition.   Press Release July 18 3 am EDT
Three analyses reported by investigative teams at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, at AAIC 2017 examined sleep patterns among participants in ADNI to characterize potential effects of SDB and OSA on brain changes associated with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease.

This team of innovative, resourceful researchers used the available databases produced by the ADNI research consortium. Two enterprising and intelligent undergraduates followed the lead of their amazing Professor Omonigho Bubu, MD, MPH to conduct important analyses reported here at and AAIC 2017 in London.

STUDY #1:   Amanda Shim and colleagues examined brain β-amyloid-42 accumulation in a cohort of 516 cognitively normal subjects and found that those with SDB had higher levels in CSF at baseline and more rapid accumulation over time. They found no interactive effect between OSA and the Alzheimer’s risk gene APOE-e4. This suggests that OSA may be independently associated with brain amyloid burden..

STUDY #2:    Megan Hogan and colleagues performed similar analyses to assess the

	Megan Hogan Wheaton College Class of 2019

effects of OSA in 798 subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). As with the cognitively normal cohort, both baseline β-amyloid-42 levels and the rate of accumulation were higher in subjects with OSA. While MCI does not always lead to dementia, a person with MCI is at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s or another dementia. These results suggest that SDB may be an independent risk factor for Alzheimer’s and raises the possibility that interventions aimed at treating SDB may also reduce Alzheimer’s risk.
A combined analysis of the cognitively normal and mild cognitive impairment populations, plus a third group with Alzheimer’s disease (n=325), evaluated the effects of OSA on levels of several Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and brain β-amyloid burden measured by positron emission tomography.

Analyses showed:
* Associations between OSA and CSF Aβ42 levels in the MCI and Alzheimer’s groups.
* Significant OSA associations were observed with [brain] Aβ42 levels in CN and MCI participants.
* OSA subjects experienced faster increase in [brain] Aβ42 over time in the CN and MCI groups.
* OSA participants experienced a faster decrease in CSF Aβ42 and increases in TAU and PTAU volumes over time in both the CN and MCI groups.

Omonigho Bubu, MD, MPH, research team leader and Professor at Wheaton College

STUDY #3: According to research team leader, Omonigho Bubu, MD, MPH, these results “highlight the importance of checking for and accurately diagnosing sleep disordered breathing, especially in people at risk for dementia, and more importantly in people diagnosed with MCI, so that it can be addressed and treated.”
“If OSA accelerates deposition of beta amyloid in the brain, then it becomes a possible target for therapeutic intervention. More research is needed to confirm these findings,” Bubu said.

Abstract citations: All July 2017, AAIC 2017  London, England
* Amanda Shim, et al. Sleep Disordered Breathing, APOE4 and β-Amyloid Deposition in Cognitive Normal Elderly. (Funder(s): Wheaton College Faculty Development Grant)
* Megan Hogan, et al. Obstructive Sleep Is Associated with Longitudinal Increases in Amyloid Burden in Elderly Mild Cognitive Impairment Individuals. (Funder(s): Wheaton College Development Grant)
* Omonigho Bubu, MD, MPH, et al. Effect of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) on Rate of Change of AD Biomarkers in Cognitive Normal, MCI and AD Elderly: Findings from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) Cohort. (Funder(s): Wheaton College Faculty Development Grant)

Maria C. Carillo, VP, Medical and Scientific Relations has long been a champion of brain healthy lifestyle research.

Mediterranean and MIND diets may lower risk of cognitive impairment up to 35 percent   LONDON, July 17, 2017 –
Results from four large population-based studies support a connection between good dietary practices and better cognition in old age. Study results were reported at the 2017 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC 2017) in London.

“Although the idea that a healthy diet can help protect against cognitive decline as we age is not new, the size and length of these four studies demonstrate how powerful good dietary practices may be in maintaining brain health and function,” said Keith Fargo, PhD, Alzheimer’s Association Director of Scientific Programs and Outreach. “That said, we must understand that what we eat is just one part of the puzzle. Adapting our lifestyles as we get older – for example by exercising regularly, watching what we eat and engaging in lifelong learning – is important in order to maximize the potential to reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia.”
The Alzheimer’s Association offers 10 Ways to Love Your Brain, including broad dietary guidance, based on the latest research.
NEED FOR MORE RESEARCH FUNDING:   While the U.S. Congress has recently provided additional funding for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health, the commitment falls far short of the need. Congress must continue its commitment to the fight against Alzheimer’s and other dementias by increasing funding for Alzheimer’s research by at least an additional $414 million in fiscal year 2018.

About Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC)
The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) is the world’s largest gathering of researchers from around the world focused on Alzheimer’s and other dementias. As a part of the Alzheimer’s Association’s research program, AAIC serves as a catalyst for generating new knowledge about dementia and fostering a vital, collegial research community.
AAIC 2017 home page: www.alz.org/aaic/
AAIC 2017 newsroom: www.alz.org/aaic/press.asp

About the Alzheimer’s Association^®
The Alzheimer’s Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research, to provide and enhance care and support for all affected and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. Visit alz.org or call +1 800.272.3900.

Yian Gu PhD Columbia U and Fudan U

Building on solid evidence that eating well is brain healthy, researchers are beginning to explore mechanisms through which dietary mechanisms may influence cognitive status and dementia risk. Yian Gu, Ph.D., at Columbia University, New York, and colleagues examined whether an inflammation-related nutrient pattern (INP) was associated with cognitive function and structural MRI findings in the brain. Using data on 330 community-dwelling, non-demented elderly individuals (mean age 79.7), the investigators found that an INP characterized by high intake of cholesterol, beta-carotene and lutein, and low intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, calcium, folate and vitamins (B1, B2, B5, B6, D, E), was positively associated with levels of inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and interleukin-6). In addition, closer adherence to this INP was associated with smaller total brain gray matter volume and worse performance in executive function. Additional research in larger populations is needed to confirm the role of inflammation-related dietary components in brain and cognitive health, and help elucidate inflammatory or other mechanisms through which eating habits may alter brain function and structure.

Yian Gu, Ph.D., et al. An Inflammatory Nutrient Pattern Is Associated Both Structural and Cognitive Measures of Brain Aging in the Elderly. (Funder(s): U.S. National Institute on Aging) . July 2017 at AAIC 2017  London, England

Source: Alz.org. AAIC Press Release

More about Yian Gu

Claire McEvoy, PhD

The scoop:  Claire McEvoy, Ph.D. at the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues examined the association between adherence to the Mediterranean and MIND diets and cognitive performance in a large, nationally representative population of 5,907 older, community-dwelling adults in the Health and Retirement Study. The researchers found that the more healthfully people ate, the better they functioned cognitively.  In fact, the investigators discovered that those with healthier diets exhibited meaningful preservation of cognitive function.
After controlling for demographic, lifestyle and health variables, participants who were highly adherent to these diets were 30 to 35 percent less likely to exhibit poor performance on a measure of cognitive function. Study participants who were moderately adherent to either diet were 18 percent less likely to exhibit signs of cognitive impairment.

Claire McEvoy, Ph.D., et al. Neuroprotective Dietary Patterns Are Associated with Better Cognitive Performance in Older US Adults: The Health and Retirement Study. (Funder(s): The Wellcome Trust)  presented at AAIC July 2017   London, England

McEvoy CT, Guyer H, Langa KM, Yaffe K. Neuroprotective Diets Are Associated with Better Cognitive Function: The Health and Retirement Study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2017 Apr 25. PMID: 28440854.   See abstract in Pub Med

FYI:

• The Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets were originally developed or codified to help improve cardiovascular health.

• A hybrid of these diets, called the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, or MIND diet, is gaining attention for its potential positive effects on preserving cognitive function and reducing dementia risk in older individuals. A 2015 study found that individuals adhering to this diet exhibited less cognitive decline as they aged (Morris et al. Alzheimer’s Dement. 2015; 11:1015-22).

source: alz.org  AAIC Press releases

More about Claire McEvoy