Discrimination and the Inflammatory Pathway in Alzheimer's disease

Background According to the 2021 Alzheimer's Association Facts and Figures report, older Black/African American individuals are twice as likely and Hispanic/Latino individuals about one and one-half times as likely to develop dementia as older white individuals. As noted in the 2021 Facts and Figures report, health and socioeconomic disparities and systemic racism could contribute to increased Alzheimer's and dementia risk in communities of color. Discrimination is a barrier to Alzheimer's and dementia care. Individuals with Alzheimer's typically experience brain inflammation caused by changes in the immune system, which may contribute to damage of nearby nerve cells. Studies have found that people who experience discrimination may have higher levels of brain changes such as brain inflammation observed in Alzheimer's, although the biology of this potential link is still unclear. Research Plan Dr. Dominika Seblova and colleagues will study the link between discrimination and brain inflammation. For their effort, they will leverage an ongoing study, called the Offspring study in Northern Manhattan that engages a large and diverse population of individuals. From this study, the researchers will recruit a large, racially diverse group of middle-aged Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and white participants with a family history of Alzheimer's. The researchers will study each participant's history of discrimination and study the potential impact of discrimination on biological factors associated with dementia. Dr. Seblova's team will collect participant blood samples to study the levels of proteins associated with inflammation. They will use brain scans (magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) to study the potential association of discrimination, brain inflammation with reductions in brain volume and losses in white matter (the brain's 'wiring system' of the brain that enables brain cells to 'talk' to each other). Finally, the researchers will also study the participants' brain function with memory and cognitive tests. Using results from these experiments, Dr. Seblova's team will better understand the biology of how discrimination may impact brain inflammation across different races and ethnicities. Impact The results of these studies could shed new light on potential factors that may be underlying health disparities in the risk of developing Alzheimer's, and further emphasize the need to address these disparities in the treatment, care and prevention of Alzheimer's.