[UNCHANGED]The development of strategies to prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementing illnesses willdepend on an understanding of the underlying pathologic processes. In recent years it has become apparentthat in older persons, these illnesses are usually the result of two or more fundamental pathogenic processes,often interacting additively. This complexity has been recognized largely as a result of neuropathologicalresearch in the context of longitudinal epidemiologic projects such as the Nun Study and the Honolulu-AsiaAging Study (HAAS), both now completed. The proposed project will compile accrued data and images from854 HAAS autopsies and approximately 500 Nun Study autopsies, develop a common dataset and archive ofphotographic images of brain sections, and will be employed in parallel assessments of newly revisedneuropathologic criteria for the identification and measurement of the AD disease process, which will becompared to previous criteria. In addition, these same data will be utilized for in an in-depth analysis of theinterdependent and independent roles of AD brain lesions and brain atrophy as proximate causal factorsresponsible for dementia. These efforts are expected to: (1) provide a foundation for future analytic use of theaccrued resources of the two projects, (2) examine the likely impact and utility of the revised neuropathologicAD assessment criteria for future research addressing the dementing illnesses of late life, and (3) facilitate aconceptual convergence of our understanding of the causes and importance of brain atrophy fromneuroimaging and neuropathological perspectives.
[UNCHANGED]The proposed project will use already-collected information and images of autopsy brain sections from the NunStudy and the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study to better understand the roles of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillarytangles; as well as brain atrophy; in the direct causation of cognitive decline and dementia. It will also use datafrom the same studies to assess the likely impact and utility of revised neuropathologic criteria.
| Flanagan, Margaret E; Cholerton, Brenna; Latimer, Caitlin S et al. (2018) TDP-43 Neuropathologic Associations in the Nun Study and the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study. J Alzheimers Dis 66:1549-1558 |
| Latimer, Caitlin S; Keene, C Dirk; Flanagan, Margaret E et al. (2017) Resistance to Alzheimer Disease Neuropathologic Changes and Apparent Cognitive Resilience in the Nun and Honolulu-Asia Aging Studies. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 76:458-466 |
| White, Lon R; Edland, Steven D; Hemmy, Laura S et al. (2016) Neuropathologic comorbidity and cognitive impairment in the Nun and Honolulu-Asia Aging Studies. Neurology 86:1000-8 |
| Wüthrich, Christian; Batson, Stephanie; Anderson, Matthew P et al. (2016) JC Virus Infects Neurons and Glial Cells in the Hippocampus. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol : |
| Flanagan, Margaret; Larson, Eric B; Latimer, Caitlin S et al. (2016) Clinical-pathologic correlations in vascular cognitive impairment and dementia. Biochim Biophys Acta 1862:945-51 |
| Mueller, Bryon A; Lim, Kelvin O; Hemmy, Laura et al. (2015) Diffusion MRI and its Role in Neuropsychology. Neuropsychol Rev 25:250-71 |
