Study Protocol – Insight 46 Cardiovascular: A Sub-study of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development
- DOI
- 10.2991/artres.k.200417.001How to use a DOI?
- Keywords
- Dementia; cognitive decline; vascular cognitive impairment; functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
- Abstract
The commonest causes of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease and vascular cognitive impairment. Although these conditions have been viewed as distinct entities, there is increasing evidence that neurodegenerative and vascular pathologies interact or overlap to cause cognitive decline, and that at least in some cases individuals at risk of cognitive decline exhibit abnormal cardiovascular physiology long before emergence of disease. However, the mechanisms linking haemodynamic disturbances with cognitive impairment and the various pathologies that cause dementia are poorly understood. A sub-sample of 502 participants from the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) have participated in the first visit of a neuroscience sub-study referred to as Insight 46, where clinical, cognitive, imaging, and lifestyle data have been collected for the purpose of elucidating the pathological changes preceding dementia. This paper outlines the cardiovascular phenotyping performed in the follow-up visit of Insight 46, with the study participants now aged 74. In addition to standard cardiovascular assessments such as blood pressure measurements, echocardiography, and electrocardiography (ECG), functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been included to provide an assessment of cerebrovascular function. A detailed description of the fNIRS protocol along with preliminary results from pilot data is presented. The combination of lifestyle data, brain structure/function, cognitive performance, and cardiovascular health obtained not only from Insight 46, but also from the whole NSHD provides an exciting opportunity to advance our understanding of the cardiovascular mechanisms underlying dementia and cognitive decline, and identify novel targets for intervention.
- Copyright
- © 2020 Association for Research into Arterial Structure and Physiology. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.
- Open Access
- This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
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TY - JOUR AU - Sarah Ann Mason AU - Lamia Al Saikhan AU - Siana Jones AU - Gemma Bale AU - Sarah-Naomi James AU - Heidi Murray-Smith AU - Alicja Rapala AU - Suzanne Williams AU - Brian Wong AU - Marcus Richards AU - Nick C. Fox AU - Rebecca Hardy AU - Jonathan M. Schott AU - Nish Chaturvedi AU - Alun D. Hughes PY - 2020 DA - 2020/04/24 TI - Study Protocol – Insight 46 Cardiovascular: A Sub-study of the MRC National Survey of Health and Development JO - Artery Research SP - 170 EP - 179 VL - 26 IS - 3 SN - 1876-4401 UR - https://doi.org/10.2991/artres.k.200417.001 DO - 10.2991/artres.k.200417.001 ID - Mason2020 ER -