The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded UC Davis Health a $15.85 million grant to support the next phase of one of the nation’s most extensive studies on brain aging in Hispanic-Latino communities.
Latinos are one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States. They also have a higher risk of heart and vascular diseases and are more prone to developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia than people from other groups. Still, Latinos remain underrepresented in research on aging and dementia.
The grant will support the creation of the most comprehensive long-term dataset on Hispanic and Latino brain aging to date.
“Our goal is to identify the factors that matter most for healthy cognitive aging — and ultimately reduce the burden of dementia for millions of families. Our new study will give us an unprecedented ability to understand how the brain changes over time in Latino communities,” said Charles DeCarli, UC Davis distinguished professor of neurology and the study’s principal investigator. DeCarli is also the co-director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.
The study will track brain and cognitive changes in Latinos from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the wide range of ancestry, culture and health experiences within Latino populations that can influence how the brain ages.
“Latino communities have been historically overlooked in aging research. This grant allows us to change that,” said UC San Diego professor Héctor González, co-principal investigator on this new grant. “By studying brain health in a diverse and deeply characterized Latino cohort, we can develop better tools for early detection and more effective strategies for prevention that truly reflect our communities.”