# Supplement-Discovery and Validation of Epigenetic Biomarkers in Brain Tissue

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2024 · $381,250

## Abstract

Abstract of the proposed research that shows the relevance to AD/ADRD
Chronic pain and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) are common in older age and
emerging evidence links pain as a significant risk factor for subsequent cognitive decline and dementia. However,
the up-to-10-year preclinical phase of AD/ADRD with no objective cognitive deficits significantly limits the study
of pain’s potential impact on cognition, and once diagnosed, there are significant limitations assessing the
multidimensional pain experience using verbal reports. Given the complexity of chronic pain in aging, there are
likely a combination of mechanisms contributing to pain-cognitive decline interactions. Our own previous work
has demonstrated accelerated biological aging in persons with chronic pain including accelerated brain aging
using brain aging biomarkers known to predict cognitive decline and AD. Thus, the current study aims to
determine the association between brain tissue and blood-derived epigenetic aging biomarkers along with
determination of brain aging from the clinical MRIs within the same individual to further understand biological
aging interactions and potential underlying neurobiological mechanisms. The proposed research addresses a
significant gap in the literature and would be the first to evaluate pain-related differences in multi-tissue-derived
epigenetic aging and associations with brain aging biomarkers derived from clinical MRIs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10939464
- **Project number:** 3R01AG067757-05S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Yenisel Cruz-Almeida
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $381,250
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-15 → 2026-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10939464

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10939464, Supplement-Discovery and Validation of Epigenetic Biomarkers in Brain Tissue (3R01AG067757-05S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10939464. Licensed CC0.

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