# Mobility Decline: Relations to Cerebral Perfusion, Small Vessel Disease Progression, and Longitudinal Blood Pressure Exposures

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR · 2020 · $578,934

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Gait disturbances in older adults are common, costly, and contribute to loss of functional independence, more
so in African Americans (AA) than whites. Yet the pathway to mobility decline is poorly understood and grossly
understudied in AA. Prior studies suggest hypertension, cerebral small vessel disease (e.g., infarcts and white
matter hyperintensities) and poor cognition may have substantial effects on gait and are more prevalent in AA.
These factors are also associated with cerebral perfusion. Lower static cerebral perfusion in whites is
associated with slower gait speed, and this relationship is modified by systolic blood pressure (SBP) and age.
These relationships have not been examined in AA, and interrelations of late-life BP, cerebral perfusion and
mobility have not been characterized.
Thus, there is limited understanding of how these factors affect mobility. This study will collect measures of
cerebral perfusion in a biracial sample in Jackson, Mississippi via 3T arterial spin labeled perfusion MRI and
will compare findings to whites in a cohort in Minnesota. The combination of African American and white
participants will enable us to further disentangle race- and geographic influences related to mobility decline.
This study will cost-effectively define interrelations of historical and late-life BP levels, late-life cerebral
perfusion and late-life mobility AA and whites at substantial cost savings via these three aims:
Aim 1: Determine optimal SBP ranges in late life associated with better mobility and less mobility
decline across age and cerebral perfusion levels. H1: Optimal BP ranges associated with better mobility
and less decline in mobility will be lower in older adults with higher cerebral perfusion and will increase with
lower cerebral perfusion levels and older age.
Aim 2: Quantify relations of late-life BP, mid-life BP, and cumulative BP to late-life cerebral perfusion.
H2: Higher mid-life BP and greater cumulative BP exposures will be more strongly associated with lower
cerebral perfusion than late-life BP.
Aim 3: Quantify racial differences in interrelations of late-life BP, cerebral perfusion and mobility/
mobility decline. H3.1: Cerebral perfusion will be lower in AA than in whites. H3.2: Among all participants with
better cerebral perfusion, optimal BP ranges associated with better mobility and less mobility decline will be
lower in AA than in whites.
Findings will provide the first evidence base for testing and refining personalized medicine in BP management
in relation to mobility and will elucidate contributors to mobility disparities in AA.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9895585
- **Project number:** 5R01AG054787-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** Beverly Gwen Windham
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $578,934
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-15 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9895585

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9895585, Mobility Decline: Relations to Cerebral Perfusion, Small Vessel Disease Progression, and Longitudinal Blood Pressure Exposures (5R01AG054787-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9895585. Licensed CC0.

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