title: The Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project: Study Design and Baseline Cohort Overview.
abstract: Vascular health factors frequently co-occur with Alzheimer's disease (AD). A better understanding of how systemic vascular and cerebrovascular health intersects with clinical and pathological AD may inform prevention and treatment opportunities.
  
  
  
  To establish the Vanderbilt Memory & Aging Project, a case-control longitudinal study investigating vascular health and brain aging, and describe baseline methodology and participant characteristics.
  
  
  
  From September 2012 to November 2014, 335 participants age 60- 92 were enrolled, including 168 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, 73±8 years, 41% female) and 167 age-, sex-, and race-matched cognitively normal controls (NC, 72±7 years, 41% female). At baseline, participants completed a physical and frailty examination, fasting blood draw, neuropsychological assessment, echocardiogram, cardiac MRI, and brain MRI. A subset underwent 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and lumbar puncture for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection.
  
  
  
  As designed, participant groups were comparable for age (p = 0.31), sex (p = 0.95), and race (p = 0.65). MCI participants had greater Framingham Stroke Risk Profile scores (p = 0.008), systolic blood pressure values (p = 0.008), and history of left ventricular hypertrophy (p = 0.04) than NC participants. As expected, MCI participants performed worse on all neuropsychological measures (p-values < 0.001), were more likely to be APOEɛ4 carriers (p = 0.02), and had enhanced CSF biomarkers, including lower Aβ42 (p = 0.02), higher total tau (p = 0.004), and higher p-tau (p = 0.02) compared to NC participants.
  
  
  
  Diverse sources of baseline and longitudinal data will provide rich opportunities to investigate pathways linking vascular and cerebrovascular health, clinical and pathological AD, and neurodegeneration contributing to novel strategies to delay or prevent cognitive decline.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Angela L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Jefferson
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Gifford
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Lealani Mae Y
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Acosta
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.|Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.|Center for Quality Aging, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Susan P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.|Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Manus J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Donahue
authors.affiliation: Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: L Taylor
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Institute for Clinical & Translational Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: JoAnn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gottlieb
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Deepak K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Timothy J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Hohman
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.affiliation: Rowan University - School of Osteopathic Medicine, Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology, New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, Stratford, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Libon
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Mendes
authors.affiliation: Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Niswender
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center, Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Pechman
authors.affiliation: Radiology, University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rane
authors.affiliation: Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Frederick L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Ruberg
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Yan Ru
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.|Deparment of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zetterberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Dandan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000097:blood / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004452:Echocardiography; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012107:Research Design
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; biomarkers; brain MRI; cardiac MRI; mild cognitive impairment; vascular risk factors