Establishing AD risk profiles based on early cognitive changes in normal
controls
 
   Lead Investigator:    Stephanie Kielb
   Institution      :    Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
   E-Mail           :    stephaniekielb2012@u.northwestern.edu
   Proposal ID      :    401



   Proposal Description:
   A significant body of literature has examined the environmental and genetic risk factors that predispose individuals to developing Alzheimer???s disease(AD). However, few studies have investigated how the combination of risk variables may modulate an individual???s chances of converting to dementia. We hypothesize that AD risk exists on a continuum, where an increased number of    factors leads to greater vulnerability. We propose to study how the presence of three well-established risk factors for AD, namely APOE status, positive family history of dementia, and a subjective memory complaint, may be associated with early cognitive changes among NACC subjects who were diagnosed as cognitively     normal at the initial visit. Specifically, we hypothesize that the cognitive performance will decrease as the number of risk factors increases. The goal of this project is establish risk profiles for AD based on early changes in cognitive performance, which may provide preliminary support for a continuum  risk model of AD.