How midlife emotional changes, sex, immunity, and fetal factors relate to Alzheimer's risk
Aging of Emotion Circuitry and Risk for Alzheimer's disease: Impact of Sex, Immunity, and Fetal Origins
This project looks at whether midlife emotional problems, sex differences, immune signals, and early-life (fetal) factors are linked to higher Alzheimer's risk in people followed since before birth.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11299579 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would join a long-term group that was followed from pregnancy into ages about 55–61, with equal numbers of men and women. The team combines mood and emotional-control tests, brain imaging of regions like the amygdala and hippocampus, blood markers of immune and vascular function (for example TNF-α), and Alzheimer's-related biomarkers to track changes that happen before memory loss. Researchers compare men and women and examine prenatal immune signals that might program brain aging decades later. The goal is to link midlife mood and emotion changes to early Alzheimer’s signs so risk can be identified before dementia begins.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults in midlife (roughly their 50s–60s), especially those with new or persistent emotional dysregulation or depression beginning in midlife, who can attend study visits.
Not a fit: People without midlife emotional symptoms, much younger adults, or those unable to travel to the study site may not directly benefit from this work.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify people at higher Alzheimer's risk earlier and point to immune- or vascular-related targets for prevention, especially for women.
How similar studies have performed: Prior studies have linked midlife emotional dysregulation and depression to increased Alzheimer's risk, but combining prenatal immune-programming data with decades-long imaging and biomarker follow-up is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Goldstein, Jill M — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Goldstein, Jill M
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.