SOMATOTROPICS, MEMORY & AGING RESEARCH TRIAL ("SMART")

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The societal burden of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other primary neurodegenerative dementias is monumental with total annual costs estimated at $100 billion (1996 dollars) per year in the United States. AD is the most common primary degenerative disorder of the aged brain, and accounts for over 50% of all cases of dementia in patients 65 years or older. The need to identify and treat individuals as early as possible in the AD process is clear, and justifies intensification of studies of individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) who are at risk for progression to dementia within a few years. Successful interventions to improve cognitive function and delay decline in individuals with MCI promise to forestall the severe loss of quality of life for patients and their caregivers, and to allay or reduce the growing costs of care. There is considerable and compelling evidence from both the animal and human literature that the actions of the somatotrophic hormonal axis (growth hormone releasing hormone/growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor I) have significant and predictable effects on cognitive function (memory and reasoning ability). In a preliminary study, we have shown that five months of growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) treatment improves cognitive function in healthy older men and women, and also have preliminary evidence that supports the likelihood of a similar effect in individuals diagnosed with MCI. GHRH may be of direct benefit to individuals who are experiencing a mild cognitive impairment and who may be at risk for continued cognitive decline. We propose to extend our initial GHRH finding, using a comprehensive cognitive assessment battery. We will extend our examination of the cognition-enhancing effects of GHRH to a sample of older adults with MCI.