The Combined Influence of Vascular Risk Factors and Alzheimers Disease on
Cognition, and the Role of Vascular Neuropathology in that Relationship.
 
   Lead Investigator:    Karim Yamout
   Institution      :    UCD
   E-Mail           :    kzyamout@gmail.com
   Proposal ID      :    90


   Publications:


1  Yamout K
   AD Pathology, Vascular Neuropathology and Cognition
   2010   Abstract  Intl Neuropsychology Society Meeting , 

   ACCEPTED



2  Yamout K, Mungas D, Reed BR
   Cardiovascular, Cerebrovascular, and Alzheimer's Disease and Cognition in an Autopsy Sample
   Abstract  Neurology,76:A74,2011,

   PUBLISHED





   Proposal Description:
   This study will investigate the relationships between vascular neuropathology (VNP, e.g., ischemia), vascular risk factors (VRF???s), and Alzheimer???s disease (AD) pathology as they relate to cognitive impairment and dementia. Cerebrovascular disease and AD pathology are the leading causes of dementia. In this area of growing interest and new understandings, postmortem studies have demonstrated, with some equivocation, that AD pathology and VNP have an additive effect on risk of dementia and cognitive impairment. In a parallel line of research, epidemiological studies have demonstrated that VRF???s (e.g., hypertension, hypercholesterolemia) increase the risk of incident dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT). However, the relationship between VRF and dementia has not been assessed in postmortem pathology studies and thus the mechanism of this effect is unknown.  It is possible that VRF???s exert their influence on cognition through VNP???s. However, this has not been empirically investigated. There is also reason to believe that VRF???s exert a burden on cognition independent of VNP???s, such as through energy hypometabolism without ischemia or a pathological effect on cortical grey matter volume. This effect, in turn, may combine with AD pathology to exert an additive burden on cognition. The large NACC neuropathology data base provides an interesting opportunity to model these effects.