Current Projects
- The Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction In Transplantation (FAVORIT) project is a multi-center, randomized, double-blind controlled clinical trial designed to determine whether treatment with a standard multivitamin augmented with high doses of folic acid, and vitamin B6 and B12, alters the rate of cardiovascular disease outcomes in renal transplant recipients relative to participants receiving a similar multivitamin that contains no folic acid and lower amounts of vitamins B6 and B12.
- The FAVORIT Ancillary (FACT) project is a multi-center, randomized, double- blind controlled clinical trial designed to determine whether treatment with a standard multivitamin augmented with high doses of folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 alters the rate of cognitive decline in renal transplant recipients relative to participants receiving a similar multivitamin containing no folic acid and lower amounts of vitamins B6 and B12.
- There are on-going projects that involve animal models of neurovascular disease. Diets chronically deficient in B-vitamins are associated with damage to cerebrovasculature in mice and rats. Using this nutritionally mediated model of neurovascular disease, alterations in cognitive performance can be observed. Recent findings suggest a strong interrelation between dietary-induced cognitive deficiency and abnormal metabolism of brain phospholipids. Current experiments examine other nutritional and pharmacological variables that may offset disruptions in cognitive functions and lipid metabolism associated with B-vitamin deficiency. The Nutrition and Neurocognition Laboratory, in collaboration with the Neuroscience Laboratory, presently has capabilities in the animal behavior testing.
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