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

这个子项目是许多研究子项目中的一个 由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源。子项目及 研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金， 因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为 研究中心，而研究中心不一定是研究者所在的机构。 阿尔茨海默病（AD）和其他原发性神经退行性痴呆的社会负担是巨大的，在美国每年的总成本估计为1000亿美元（1996年美元）。AD是老年脑最常见的原发性退行性疾病，占65岁或以上患者所有痴呆病例的50%以上。 在AD过程中尽早识别和治疗个体的必要性是明确的，并且证明了加强对轻度认知障碍（MCI）个体的研究是合理的，这些个体在几年内有进展为痴呆的风险。 改善认知功能和延迟MCI患者衰退的成功干预措施有望防止患者及其护理人员生活质量的严重损失，并减轻或降低不断增长的护理成本。来自动物和人类文献的大量令人信服的证据表明，促生长激素轴（生长激素释放激素/生长激素/胰岛素样生长因子I）的作用对认知功能（记忆和推理能力）具有显著和可预测的影响。在一项初步研究中，我们已经证明，五个月的生长激素释放激素（GHRH）治疗可以改善健康老年男性和女性的认知功能，并且也有初步证据支持在诊断为MCI的个体中有类似效果的可能性。 GHRH可能对正在经历轻度认知障碍和可能有持续认知能力下降风险的个体有直接益处。我们建议扩展我们最初的GHRH发现，使用一个全面的认知评估电池。 我们将扩大我们的研究GHRH的认知增强作用的样本与MCI的老年人。

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.