Menopause, aging and brain health: how midlife changes affect Alzheimer’s risk
Official title: Menopause and related midlife risk factors and their impact on later-life pathology and cognition - the WHIMSY-AD study
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11447728 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study follows women who were part of a large midlife health study to see how menopause and related factors relate to brain biomarkers and memory later in life.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | August 5, 2026 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $3,558,232 |
| NIH project number | 1RF1AG093765-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11447728 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Postmenopausal women aged 75–84 who are part of the WHIMSY cohort and have banked plasma samples and midlife data.
✕Less likely to help
Women outside the WHIMSY cohort or those not meeting age or sample criteria may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
Researchers will recontact 700 women aged 75–84 who previously participated in WHIMSY and stored plasma samples 25 years ago. They will collect new blood samples remotely and perform digital cognitive assessments to understand how menopause-related factors influence Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers and thinking skills. By linking historical data with current biomarkers and cognition, the project aims to map connections between midlife risk factors and later-life brain health. This work builds on existing participant data to explore potential pathways from menopause to AD risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could help identify women at higher risk for Alzheimer's disease and guide personalized monitoring or interventions to promote brain health in later life.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has linked menopause and related factors to AD risk, but this project adds longitudinal biomarker data and remote cognition testing in an older cohort.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Buckley, Rachel Frances — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Buckley, Rachel Frances
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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.