Lead Investigator:    Isabel Sible
   Institution      :    University of Southern California
   E-Mail           :    sible@usc.edu
   Proposal ID      :    1575



   Proposal Description:
   The present project will examine long-term (e.g., over months and years) blood pressure variability and concomitant neuropathological substrates in patients with Alzheimers disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). The goal of this project is to relate long-term blood pressure variability during life to neuropathological substrate upon autopsy. Specifically, this project will focus on the relationship between long-term blood pressure variability in the years preceding death and pathological evidence of vascular disease across the spectrum of AD to mixed AD/VaD to VaD. A growing literature suggests that         increased long-term blood pressure variability is linked to in vivo               cerebrovascular disease as detected using neuroimaging techniques, including     increased presence of white matter hyperintensities, lacunes, and cerebral       microbleeds. However, the impact of elevated long-term blood pressure             variability on neuropathological features at autopsy, especially those elated   to vascular pathology, is not well known. The proposed research will test the     hypothesis that increased long-term pressure variability in the years leading     to death will be linked to greater presence of vascular pathology at autopsy.     By examining these relationships at autopsy, we hope to gain a better             understanding of the role of blood pressure variability in vascular brain         health, with the potential to inform treatment during life.