Brain small-vessel injury and its link to Alzheimer's disease
Official title: Assessing the role of cerebrovascular brain injury and dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis in the BEACoN Cohort
Funded at University of California-Irvine · NIH-11472083 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will look for connections between small blood-vessel damage in the brain and later memory decline in older adults without dementia, including Black and Hispanic participants.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California-Irvine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Irvine, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2017 |
| Project end | December 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $12,682 |
| NIH project number | 3R01AG053555-09S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11472083 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults age 60 or older who do not have dementia and can travel to the study site for brain imaging and memory testing, with enrollment prioritizing Black and Hispanic participants.
✕Less likely to help
People with established moderate-to-severe dementia or those unable to undergo brain imaging or travel to the site are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
What this research studies
You would join a follow-up of the BEACoN cohort where researchers use brain imaging and memory testing to look for signs of chronic cerebrovascular injury that might make people more likely to develop Alzheimer's-related problems. The team will create individualized imaging-based cerebrovascular profiles from scans and compare those profiles to changes in memory over time. About 100 nondemented adults over age 60 will have repeat visits for imaging and cognitive testing, prioritizing racially and ethnically diverse participants. The goal is to find patterns that predict who experiences memory decline so care can be personalized earlier.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify people at higher risk for memory problems earlier and guide personalized prevention or monitoring.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research shows vascular disease often co-occurs with Alzheimer's pathology and smaller imaging studies suggest links to cognitive decline, but applying detailed cerebrovascular imaging in a diverse, nondemented cohort is a newer and promising approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California-Irvine
Irvine, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yassa, Michael a — University of California-Irvine
- Study coordinator: Yassa, Michael a
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.