•
•
•
•
Background: There is currently a large NIH initiative, the Neuroscience Blueprint. One question that arises in this context is what behavioral and biologic factors contribute to the observed sex differences in many neurologic diseases. Very little is understood about differences in brain structure and function between aging men and women, and whether there is a differential relationship, modulated by sex, of risk factors to brain structure and function. Understanding these differences will help to better understand and prevent clinical and sub-clinical neurologic diseases.
Proposal: The goal of the candidate’s research would be to examine gender differences in brain aging and neurologic diseases in older men and women. Data are derived from the population-based Age Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study [AGES-RS}. By the end of baseline data collection in 2006, the AGES-RS study will have examined about 6800 men and women between the ages of 67 and 94 yrs, approximately 30% of whom will be over 80 years of age. The cohort has been followed since 1967, so we have available mid-life data on cardiovascular disease and risk factors. Measures of brain aging currently collected as a part of AGES-RS [2002 – 2006] include: cognitive tests of memory, speed of processing, and working memory administered on the whole cohort [preliminary AGES-RS data indicate women do better on tests of memory and speed, and men do better on tests of working memory]; identification of cases of dementia, including sub-types such as Alzheimer’s disease [in published data, the female:male ratio of incident dementia is 4:1 in persons over 85 years of age]; and full brain structure scans obtained with magnetic resonance imaging [MRI; preliminary data from AGES-RS show significantly higher white matter lesion load in women compared to men, but a significantly higher prevalence of infarcts in men]. Also included in the AGES-RS baseline examination are measures of depression; history of migraine [published data, in middle age, 3:1 ratio of female:male], and restless leg syndrome [published data, 2:1 ratio of female:male]. There are very few large epidemiologic studies that can examine in the general population sex-related differences in the prevalence, functional consequences, and risk factors for these neurologic conditions. The project for this proposed fellow would focus on examining sex differences in the: 1) frequency of sub-clinical and neurologic diseases [described above]; 2) brain structure-function associations, based on 3-D analysis of brain structure and cognitive function tests; 3) association of hormonal, inflammatory and genetic factors to sub-clinical neurologic disease. The issue of selective-survival of men and women will be examined with mid-life risk factor data that are available.
Candidate profile: Background in neuroscience or neurology, preferably with data analysis experience.
