Research Projects
| Title: | Blood Biomarkers as Surrogate Endpoints of Treatment Responses to Aerobic Exercise and/or Cognitive Training in Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment |
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| Dates: | 8/1/2018 - 5/31/2022 |
| Sponsor: | NIH R01 |
| Principal Investigator: | Feng Lin, PhD, RN |
| Description: | The objective of this study is to investigate blood neuropathological and neurotrophic biomarkers as surrogate endpoints for treatment responses to 3 interventions in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI, a prodromal stage of AD): aerobic exercise; cognitive training; and combined aerobic exercise and cognitive training (ACT). We chose these biomarkers for their unique mechanistic associations with cerebral amyloidosis, neurodegeneration and neurogenesis. Our central hypothesis is that blood biomarkers change differently as a result of these 3 interventions and predict cognitive responses to these interventions. This study is built on the ACT Trial (1R01AG055469), a single-blinded, multi-site, 2×2 factorial Phase II RCT that examines the synergistic effects of a 6-month ACT intervention on cognition and MRI biomarkers (AD-signature cortical thickness and hippocampal volume) (n=128). The ACT Trial will randomize older adults with aMCI equally to 1 of 4 groups (aerobic exercise, cognitive training, ACT, and attention control) for 6 months and then follow them for another 12 months. |
