Noradrenergic Medications and Progression of MCI

 
   Lead Investigator:    Kyle Steenland
   Institution      :    Emory
   E-Mail           :    nsteenl@sph.emory.edu
   Proposal ID      :    49


   Publications:


1  Steenland K, Karnes C, Seals R, Carnevale C, Hermida A, Levey A
   Late-life depression as a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease in 30 US Alzheimer's disease centers
   Journal Article  J Alzheimers Dis,31:265-275,2012,PMC3729228

   PUBLISHED





   Proposal Description:
   1. We predict that individuals taking drugs that increase NE signaling will have a slower rate of progression compared to  individuals taking no antidepressants or anti-depressants with other mechanisms of action (e.g., SSRIs).  2. We predict that drugs that block noradrenergic signaling (e.g., ??-blockers) might accelerate disease progression.    We hypothesize that anti-depressant medications that act on the noradrenergic system slow progression from MCI to AD  and that noradrenergic antagonists would accelerate progression from MCI to AD. We propose to study these hypotheses  in the UDS database. Preliminary UDS data on medication as of October 2006 were obtained from NACC for a different  ongoing project. Current NACC data (March 2008) were also obtained (personal communication, Nathaniel Mercaldo) on  the numbers of patients in the database with MCI on first visit who also had a second visit, as well as of the mean length  of time between visits.