Ethno-racial Health Disparities in Biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease.

 
   Lead Investigator:    Nibal Arzouni
   Institution      :    USC Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute
   E-Mail           :    arzouni@usc.edu
   Proposal ID      :    1532



   Proposal Description:
   Most research studies on Alzheimer???s disease have mainly used non-hispanic   whites to assess the biological implications and pathways for AD progression      and development. Minorities like Hispanics and African Americans usually have     limited participation in AD studies. The goal of this proposed research is to     investigate potential ethno-racial differences in biomarkers for AD.              As part of USC Lab of neuroimaging (LONI), I have the data for Hispanic/Mexican AD and MCI subjects through the HABLE project in which my advisor Dr. Toga is a   Co-PI on the project. I am looking for MRI imaging data and Amyloid, tau, etc     biomarkers for non-hispanic whites and African American AD subjects.              I am planning to assess and investigate the differences in Amyloid and tau        biomarkers in addition to cognitive scores. I am also planning to assess the      differences from MRI imaging data in terms of cortical thickness, Hippocampal     volume, etc. I am also planning to study regional and global brain aging using Machine learning techniques. In addition to that, studying the genetic variants   like APOE 4 and its interactions in those different ethnic groups.                Some research studies have found that hippocampal volume, cortical thickness,     and other brain measures were lower in African Americans compared to              non-hispanic whites. The expected hypothesis that should be tested is that        minorities (Hispanics and African Americans) will have lower volumes and brain    measures, faster brain aging, higher concentration of Amyloid and tau, and        early onset of AD as compared to non-hispanic whites.                             This study will possibly be the first to examine AD biomarker differences         between Hispanics/Mexicans and other ethnic groups. It will assess how these      biomarkers especially Amyloid and tau contribute to potentially different         biological pathways in AD that may expl