The study, also done at UC Davis, examines brain imaging changes, blood biomarkers and cognition over time.
Researchers at UC San Diego and UC Davis have received a $15.85 million National Institutes of Health grant for the next phase of an extensive study on brain aging in Hispanic and Latino communities.
Latinos typically have a higher risk of heart and vascular diseases and are more prone to cognitive impairment and dementia but remain underrepresented in aging research.
The NIH award will support the creation of the most comprehensive long-term dataset on Hispanic and Latino brain aging to date; The study will track brain and cognitive changes in Latinos from diverse backgrounds.
“By studying brain health in a diverse and deeply characterized Latino cohort, we can develop better tools for early detection and more effective strategies for prevention that truly reflect our communities,” Hector González, PhD, co-principal investigator on the new grant and professor of neurosciences at UCSD School of Medicine, said in a press release.
In 2008, González and a team of researchers launched the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, the largest study of Hispanic and Latino health and disease in the United States.
At the time, the field focused on adults in their 70s and 80s; González aimed to capture data from all life phases, including a younger cohort of more than 16,000 participants from continental (Mexico, South America and Central America) and Caribbean (Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico) Latino origins and centered in Miami, San Diego, Chicago and New York.
This new NIH grant allows the team to shift from single-time-point data to long-term tracking of participants’ brain health.
The researchers will closely follow about 1,800 Latino adults for about 12 years, collecting repeated MRI scans, blood biomarkers, health and lifestyle information and data from cognitive testing.
The researchers hope to better understand how Alzheimer’s disease, vascular injury and other brain changes develop over time and why Latino adults face higher rates of certain cognitive disorders.
“We want to address dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, but we also want to address the other pathologies contributing to bad brain aging,” explained González. “What’s truly unique and powerful about this study is the recognition, appreciation and emphasis on understanding these other pathologies by using data from the MRIs and biomarker panels.”
