Heart health, brain network connections, and dementia risk
Favorable cardiovascular health, connectome integrity, and ADRD clinical outcomes and pathologic underpinnings in a diverse cohort.
This project looks at whether better heart-health habits relate to healthier brain connections and lower dementia risk in adults from diverse backgrounds.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rush University Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11167809 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you take part, researchers will use your heart-health information using the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7 and collect brain imaging to map how regions of your brain are connected. They will combine measures of grey matter, white matter damage (like small strokes and white matter hyperintensities), and network connectivity to see how these brain changes link with thinking and memory over time. The work uses advanced connectomics methods and multi-modal MRI and will draw on clinical and, when available, pathology data. The goal is to understand how maintaining good cardiovascular health might protect brain networks and lower dementia risk across a diverse group of people.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults—especially middle-aged and older adults from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds—who are willing to share cardiovascular and health information and undergo brain MRI and follow-up cognitive evaluations.
Not a fit: People seeking an experimental drug or immediate treatment for dementia, or those unwilling/unable to complete MRI scans or follow-up visits, are unlikely to receive direct clinical benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to specific heart-health targets and brain markers that help prevent or delay dementia in people at risk.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research links Life’s Simple 7 to lower dementia risk and to isolated MRI findings, but combining multi-modal connectome mapping with LS7 in a diverse cohort is a novel and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Chicago, United States
- Rush University Medical Center — Chicago, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lamar, Melissa — Rush University Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Lamar, Melissa
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 below.