The influence of smoking history on the phenotype and pathology of dementia

 
   Lead Investigator:    Berneet Kaur
   Institution      :    UC Davis
   E-Mail           :    berneet.kaur@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
   Proposal ID      :    366


   Publications:


1  Kaur B, Harvey D, Tong E, Hofstetter CR, DeCarli C, Olichney J
   A Comparison of Extrapyramidal Signs Between Smokers and Nonsmokers with Dementia
   Abstract  Neurology,80:P07.153,2013,

   PUBLISHED



2  Kaur B, Harvey D, Tong E, Hofstetter CR, DeCarli C, Olichney J
   The relationship of smoking history and vascular risk factors to motor parkinsonism in dementia
   Abstract  Neurology,78(1):P04202,2012,

   PUBLISHED





   Proposal Description:
   Increasingly, it is recognized that cardiovascular risk factors not only affect the risk of heart disease and stroke, but increase the risk for dementia. Smoking history presents an interesting dilemma. Smoking increases the risk of strokes, and strokes increase the risk of dementia but the direct relationship between smoking and dementia is less clear. Smoking likely increases the risk of all-cause dementia, but it does not clearly increase the risk of vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease, the most common dementias. Many epidemiological studies show that smoking decreases the risk of Parkinson's disease. However, smoking history has not been well studied in a dementia with pathology similar to Parkinson's, Dementia with Lewy Bodies. Nicotine may actually improve some cognitive test scores and my play a role in clearing amyloid plaques from the brain in animal models. We hypothesize that this secondary analysis will demonstrate the smoking does increase the risk of dementia and that a dose-response curve exists between the smoking history and the incidence of dementia. In the light of data that shows that smoking decreases the risk of Parkinson's disease, we hypothesize smoking history decreases the degree of dementia-related parkinsonism, also in a dose-related fashion. Thirdly, we hypothesize that the pathologically-confirmed etiologies of dementia in smokers are substantially different from those in non-smokers. Understanding how modifiable lifestyle factors, such as smoking, can increase or decrease the risk of dementia is a major public health issue.