# Early life glycemic status and Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging markers in middle age: the Bogalusa Heart Study

> **NIH NIH R01** · TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA · 2021 · $714,363

## Abstract

The U.S. population greater than 65 years of age is estimated to grow from 46 million in 2014 to 88 million in
2050, and that growth has paralleled dramatic increases in prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other
late life cognitive syndromes. To date, there is no effective treatment to stall or reverse late life cognitive
decline. Therefore, prevention, through modification of risk factors, is an essential strategy. Metabolic
dysfunction, which often culminates in a clinical diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) or pre-T2DM, is
one such modifiable risk factor that is highly prevalent. However, while metabolic dysfunction itself is
modifiable, it is not clear how to optimally prevent adverse and potentially long-lasting effects of metabolic
dysfunction on the brain. The knowledge gap driving this uncertainty is incomplete understanding of the
complex, bi-directional relationships between peripheral and central mechanisms of neuronal injury associated
with metabolic dysfunction. Adverse health behaviors (e.g., poor diet and inadequate physical activity) induce
adverse peripheral changes (e.g., insulin resistance, chronic hyperglycemia) as well as adverse brain changes
(e.g., glucose hypometabolism, amyloid accumulation, and cerebrovascular dysfunction). Brain changes
culminate in adverse cognitive changes that in turn may promote the adverse health behaviors. It has been
long recognized that early life factors can have lasting consequences, yet it is unknown whether glycemic status
in childhood and adolescence is an important trigger of cognitive changes decades later, and whether such
cognitive changes are driven by AD-related neurobiological substrates like amyloid. The Bogalusa Heart Study
(BHS) is the only on-going, life-course study of a biracial (35% African American/65% white; 13% T2DM, 35%
pre-T2DM) U.S. population, with detailed, prospectively-collected assessments of metabolic status from early
childhood through mid-life, and cognitive performance data at two time points in midlife (average age of 45
years) among 1,298 men and women. This project will use neuroimaging and cognitive testing to explore long-
term cognitive outcomes (among 600 BHS participants) associated with high-normal early-life mean Fasting
Plasma Glucose (mFPG), as well as AD-related neurobiological substrates for these outcomes (a subset of 250
BHS participants will also undergo 3T brain MRI and PET). The results of this study could impact FPG
guidelines among adolescents and whether glycemic treatment should to be initiated avoid long-term adverse
brain outcomes. The project will also assess whether AD-related molecular targets may be modified to block
the impact on the brain of early life high-normal mFPG.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10064986
- **Project number:** 5R01AG062309-03
- **Recipient organization:** TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
- **Principal Investigator:** Lydia Bazzano
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $714,363
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-15 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10064986

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10064986, Early life glycemic status and Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging markers in middle age: the Bogalusa Heart Study (5R01AG062309-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10064986. Licensed CC0.

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