Abstract

The long term goals of this proposal are to investigate the antecedents of successful aging, age-related cognitive decline, and dementia in a unique population of 2283 participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA/NIA), a 36 year prospective study of aging. Studies of risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) in this cohort will be extended to include antecedents for additional outcomes: a) rate of memory loss with aging (age-related memory decline, defined with longitudinal observations from the BLSA database, and stable cognitive performance with age); b) successful aging (longevity greater than 90 years, Active Life Expectancy ALE); c) dementia, particularly AD. By examining psychological differences, detected in AD patients 10-20 years before dementia, Specific Aim 1 is designed to test the hypothesis that subjects with higher cognitive performance (visual memory and vocabulary) in midlife, will have greater longevity and ALE.
Aim 2 will investigate family history and genetic markers, initially for ApoE alleles in promoting or preventing cognitive decline. Antecedent physiological measures (including glucose tolerance, insulin secretion, pulmonary and cardiac function, and lipid profiles) will be determined for each outcome in Aim 3, and antecedent medical history variables are examined in Aim 4. A nonconcurrent prospective design is imposed on the BLSA. Subjects are traced to the present to determine outcomes in all Active, Inactive, and Deceased participants by direct examination (including home visits), medical records, and collateral informant interviews. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analytic strategies are used to examine prospective data up to 36 years before outcome. The BLSA provides a unique database to study the precursors of cognitive aging and longevity. Based on the concept that the processes of aging are lifelong, our studies will provide extraordinarily valuable information for understanding the biological expression of aging in health and disease.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AG008325-08
Application #
2413312
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG4-EDC-2 (01))
Project Start
1990-05-01
Project End
2000-04-30
Budget Start
1997-06-01
Budget End
1998-04-30
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Johns Hopkins University
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
045911138
City
Baltimore
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
21218

  Publications

Seshadri, Sudha; Beiser, Alexa; Au, Rhoda et al. (2011) Operationalizing diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease and other age-related cognitive impairment-Part 2. Alzheimers Dement 7:35-52
Szekely, C A; Green, R C; Breitner, J C S et al. (2008) No advantage of A beta 42-lowering NSAIDs for prevention of Alzheimer dementia in six pooled cohort studies. Neurology 70:2291-8
Grober, Ellen; Hall, Charles B; Lipton, Richard B et al. (2008) Memory impairment, executive dysfunction, and intellectual decline in preclinical Alzheimer's disease. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 14:266-78
Dal Forno, Gloria; Palermo, Mark T; Donohue, Janet E et al. (2005) Depressive symptoms, sex, and risk for Alzheimer's disease. Ann Neurol 57:381-7
Yasar, S; Corrada, M; Brookmeyer, R et al. (2005) Calcium channel blockers and risk of AD: the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Neurobiol Aging 26:157-63
Moffat, S D; Zonderman, A B; Metter, E J et al. (2004) Free testosterone and risk for Alzheimer disease in older men. Neurology 62:188-93
Hertzog, Christopher; Dixon, Roger A; Hultsch, David F et al. (2003) Latent change models of adult cognition: are changes in processing speed and working memory associated with changes in episodic memory? Psychol Aging 18:755-69
Kawas, Claudia H (2003) Clinical practice. Early Alzheimer's disease. N Engl J Med 349:1056-63
Kawas, C H; Corrada, M M; Brookmeyer, R et al. (2003) Visual memory predicts Alzheimer's disease more than a decade before diagnosis. Neurology 60:1089-93
Lamar, Melissa; Zonderman, Alan B; Resnick, Susan (2002) Contribution of specific cognitive processes to executive functioning in an aging population. Neuropsychology 16:156-62

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