# Metabolic signatures of the MIND diet to objectively investigate with all cause and Alzheimer’s Disease dementia and PET imaging Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER · 2024 · $334,297

## Abstract

There is a lack of effective treatment for dementia, the way forward is the rigorous investigation of modifiable
preventive factors such as diet that impact brain aging and disease. Diet plays a pivotal role in the regulation of
systemic inflammation and oxidative stress, two causal pathways leading to dementia. The Mediterranean-DASH
Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet can be modified to eating patterns across the world
and is designed to investigate as a brain healthy diet rich in anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidative dietary factors in
relation to neurodegenerative disease outcomes. However, these findings do not give us information at the
individual level. Therefore, we will use the personalized nutrition framework to test the effect of omics signatures
of the MIND diet on the brain. This is the first study to investigate omics signatures of the MIND diet in relation
positron-emission tomography (PET)-imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease dementia (AD) and incident all-
cause dementia and AD. We aim to conduct (1a) metabolic profiling (using metabolomics) to identify (individual
and composite score) metabolic signatures of the MIND diet among participants in the Offspring (GEN2, n~2300)
and Generation 3 (GEN3, n~1220) cohorts of the Framingham Heart Study (FHS); (1b) biological pathway over
representation analysis of the omics signatures of the MIND diet; (1c) and we will investigate genetic
determinants associated with the newly identified omics biomarkers associated with the MIND diet. Secondly,
we will investigate (2a) the MIND diet in relation to amyloid (i.e. precuneus and fronto-lateral-retrosplenial), and
tau PET-imaging (i.e. entorhinal, inferotemporal and rhinal cortex, global weighted averaged and global cortical
composites weighted averaged) among participants in FHS GEN2 and GEN3 (n=350); (2b) We will investigate
the newly identified omics signatures of the MIND diet individually and as a score in relation to incident all-cause
dementia and AD (n~800), and PET-imaging markers of AD (n~200); (2c) We will investigate the associations
among subgroups (sex differences, Apolipoprotein e4 carriers vs. non-carriers, and age). Sample for aim 1 will
include GEN2 (exams 5, 8 or 9) and GEN3 (exam 2) participants who have plasma metabolomic levels, filled
out the FFQ, and have covariate data. Sample for aim 2 will include GEN2 (exams 5 up to 9) and GEN3 (exams
1 up to 4) participants who have plasma metabolomic levels, filled out the FFQ, who underwent beta-amyloid
and Tau PET scans (GEN2 between exams 9 and 10; GEN3 between exams 3 and 4), who have dementia
surveillance and covariate data. We will relate the metabolomic signatures of the MIND diet to the MIND diet as
well as PET-imaging biomarkers of AD using multivariable linear regression and incident all-cause dementia and
AD using Cox proportional hazard models. When significant associations are found (Aim 2), we will perform
stratified analyses to investigate subgro...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10890937
- **Project number:** 1R03AG087437-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Debora Melo van Lent
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $334,297
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-06-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10890937

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10890937, Metabolic signatures of the MIND diet to objectively investigate with all cause and Alzheimer’s Disease dementia and PET imaging Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease (1R03AG087437-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10890937. Licensed CC0.

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