ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH PROJECT: Implementation of a longitudinal proteomic profile in the BLSA

National Institute On Aging

Investigators

Abstract

The Geroscience hypothesis posits that the biological mechanisms of aging are the root cause of chronic diseases as well as the decline of physical and cognitive function in older persons. In this project, profile over 10,000 proteins in over 5000 samples from approximately 1500 participants of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Using the BLSA longitudinal phenotypic metric of aging for reference, we will develop a plasma longitudinal proteomic clock and test the hypothesis that this metric predicts both the rates of cognitive and physical function declines with aging, as well as risk of developing mobility disability and mild cognitive impairment (MCI)/dementia. In parallel, we will characterize the proteomic profile associated with the rate of cognitive decline and prediction of MCI/dementia. Finally, we plan to study the proteins and protein pathways that overlap between these two metrics to make inferences about the common pathways that connect the biology of aging and cognitive decline and dementia. This study is one of the first attempts to validate the geroscience hypothesis as the root-cause of physical and cognitive declines and dementia in older persons.