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NCT Number: NCT05372159

Vanderbilt Memory and Aging Project

This study will use an observational cohort to cross-sectionally and longitudinally relate vascular health to clinical, imaging, and biological markers of early Alzheimer's disease and cerebrovascular disease among aging adults. Adjusting for relevant clinical covariates, we will test the hypothesis that vascular health is associated with clinical, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuropsychological, and cerebrospinal fluid markers of early cerebrovascular and Alzheimer's disease changes (i.e., prior to the onset of significant cognitive decline or dementia). Secondarily, we will examine medical and genetic factors that might mediate associations between vascular health and brain aging, such as inflammatory processes, insulin resistance, and genetic factors (e.g., APOE, a susceptibility risk factor for dementia). Findings will advance knowledge regarding the role that vascular health plays in brain aging.

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Key information

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease Aged, 80 and Over Aging Biomarkers Brain Brain Diseases Case-Control Studies Central Nervous System Diseases Cognition Disorders Cognitive Dysfunction Dementia Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Neurocognitive Disorders Neurodegenerative Diseases Neuropsychological Tests Tauopathies

Age range

60 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, Tennessee, 37232, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Paige Crepezzi

CONTACT

615-322-8676

About this study

As the population ages, Alzheimer's disease and dementia are becoming a public health crisis. In the initial cycle, the Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project was established to examine cardiovascular function in relation to structural neuroimaging changes and cognition. The investigators tested whether associations were more prominent in clinically symptomatic individuals. The investigators successfully enrolled several hundred participants age 60 and older, data successfully supported multiple training grant opportunities (e.g., National Research Service Awards, Career Development Awards), and the investigators published numerous papers. The results suggest subclinical cardiovascular changes relate to worse cognition, white matter changes, and cerebral atrophy, especially in the hippocampus and other cortical regions primarily affected in Alzheimer's disease. Evidence to date supports the central hypothesis that well-established homeostatic mechanisms designed to protect cerebral blood supply become less effective with age, altering the integrity of cerebral hemodynamics, and lowering the threshold for neurodegenerative and cognitive changes. Interestingly, preliminary associations between subclinical cardiovascular integrity and cerebral hemodynamics are stronger among carriers of the apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele, an Alzheimer's disease genetic risk factor. Furthermore, findings are more prominent in cognitively unimpaired participants, suggesting subtle cardiac hemodynamic changes may act as an underrecognized precipitating contributor of neurodegeneration and corresponding cognitive decline, distinct from the exacerbating effects of overt cerebrovascular disease. In the next cycle, the investigators propose to better characterize underlying mechanisms linking early cardiac hemodynamic changes to abnormal brain aging in cognitively unimpaired participants, and test whether APOE-ε4 moderates the effect of vascular damage on brain health. The investigators will follow the existing cohort and supplement it with enrollment of several hundred cognitively unimpaired participants to increase statistical power for more comprehensive analyses. The new participants will complete serial longitudinal assessments with identical procedures plus lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid acquisition. Innovative translational efforts leveraging sophisticated neuroimaging and molecular biomarkers are critical to better detect early, asymptomatic cardiac hemodynamic changes, which may be more influential in initiating downstream cerebrovascular and neurodegenerative processes than previously recognized.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Participants recruited will include 1,000 adults age 50 and older.
  • After the eligibility visit, a small portion of participants (~150) enrolling must meet diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment according to a clinician diagnosis and/or medical records (i.e., participants must have mild memory or cognitive problems, but they must be free of any functional problems and not have Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia). The remaining ~850 participants will be cognitively unimpaired adults age 50 and older.
  • Because the neuropsychological tests used to measure cognitive performance are validated on English-speaking populations, we require that English be the primary language of all participants.

Exclusion criteria

  • No available reliable study partner
  • History of major psychiatric illness (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar), neurological illness (e.g., stroke, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, dementia), or head injury with significant loss of consciousness. These exclusion criteria have been applied because they affect brain structure and function.
  • Diagnosis of congestive heart failure
  • Diagnosis of atrial fibrillation or other heart arrhythmia
  • Diagnosis of Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
  • Diagnosis of cancer (current)
  • History of serious alcohol or drug abuse (past or current)
  • Participants unable to undergo MRI will be excluded. Reasons may include: a. Subjects who have any type of bioimplant activated by mechanical, electronic, or magnetic means (e.g., cochlear implants, pacemakers, neurostimulators, biostimulators, electronic infusion pumps, etc.). b. Subjects who have any type of ferromagnetic bioimplant that could potentially be displaced. c. Subjects who have cerebral aneurysm clips. d. Subjects who may have shrapnel imbedded in their bodies (e.g., from war wounds), metal workers and machinists (e.g., potential for metallic fragments in or near the eyes). e. Subjects who are pregnant. Given that the minimum age of recruitment for the current study is 50 years of age, it is unlikely that prospective participants will be excluded because of pregnancy. f. Subjects who have excessive amounts of metal dental work based on records released by their dentist.

Treatment and study plan

none, observational study

Other

none, observational study

Primary outcomes

  1. White matter hyperintensities Volume

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    White matter lesion volume measured by FLAIR imaging modality

  2. Grey Matter Volume

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Grey matter volume measured by T1 imaging modality

  3. Cerebral Blood Flow

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Resting cerebral blood flow to brain regions measured by T3 perfusion

  4. Lacunar infarcts

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Number of lacunar infarcts measured by MRI

  5. Small vessel microbleeds

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Presence and number of microbleeds measured by MRI

  6. Left ventricular ejection fraction

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Left ventricular ejection fraction measured by echocardiogram

  7. Cardiac output

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Amount of blood the heart pumps from each ventricle per minute, litres per minute (L/min). Measured by echocardiogram

  8. Cardiac stroke volume

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Stroke volume measured by echocardiogram

  9. Pulse Wave velocity

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    pulse wave velocity measured by cardiac MRI

  10. Cardiac Strain

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Global longitudinal strain and global circumferential strain measured by cardiac MRI

  11. Biological marker for Alzheimer's disease

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Tau, amyloid, neurodegenerative levels measured in cerebrospinal fluid samples

  12. Blood based biological marker for Alzheimer's disease

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    Tau, amyloid, neurodegenerative levels measured in blood samples

  13. APOE Genotype

    Time frame: baseline to year five

    APOE e4 allele status

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Mallory Rockwell

CONTACT

[email protected]

6153228676

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
  • National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Registry information

Acronym: VMAP

Important dates

Study start
2012
Primary completion
2026
Study completion
2026
First posted
May 12, 2022
Registry last updated
Aug 6, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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