Vitamin D in Older Adlts: Cognition, Mood, and Hippocampal volume

描述（由申请人提供）：此职业发展申请提出了一个综合的研究和培训计划，以发展在评估轻度认知障碍和测量大脑结构，特别是海马体，在老年人的专业知识。本申请的具体目的是确定维生素D缺乏是否与认知能力差、抑郁症状和/或海马体积减少有关。长期目标是提供培训和教育，以促进申请人过渡到一个独立的面向患者的研究者。拟议的研究和培训将为申请人提供设计和实施纵向研究的技能，以及测量脑容量的体视学估计方法的宝贵技术。完成该奖项后，申请人将具备必要的技能来设计，获得资金和实施原创研究，以了解老年人认知功能的重要生物机制。 由于阿尔茨海默病仍然是一个主要的医学和社会挑战，该领域的研究越来越多地集中在检测认知障碍的最早迹象。随着许多研究方法来诊断和预防老年人轻度认知障碍，抑郁症状和轻度认知障碍之间的关系研究较少。最近的数据发现抑郁症和非常轻微的认知障碍之间存在联系。认知和抑郁的结合增加了机构化的可能性，增加了照顾者的负担，降低了生存率。因此，重要的是要确定可能影响认知和情绪的风险因素。一个潜在的风险因素是维生素D缺乏，这与福尔斯和骨折，情感障碍有关，也在神经保护和大脑发育中发挥作用。维生素D是神经生长因子的有效诱导剂，在动物研究中，它可以逆转各种损伤引起的脑损伤。虽然超过一半的老年人患有维生素D缺乏症，但很少有人接受治疗。这部分是由于缺乏数据支持维生素D在非骨相关疾病中的作用。该应用程序将调查维生素D缺乏症，认知功能和情绪之间的重要关系，所有这些都会导致老年人过度残疾。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This career development application proposes an integrated research and training plan to develop expertise in assessing mild cognitive impairment and measuring brain structures, particularly the hippocampus, in older adults. The specific aims of the application are to determine whether vitamin D deficiency is related to worse cognitive performance, depressive symptoms and/or decreased hippocampal volumes. The long-term objectives are to provide training and education to facilitate the applicant's transition to an independent patient-oriented investigator. The proposed research and training will provide the applicant with skills in designing and implementing longitudinal studies and with valuable techniques in stereological estimation methods to measure brain volumes. Upon completion of the award, the applicant will have the necessary skills to design, obtain funding, and implement original research studies to understand biologic mechanisms important in cognitive function in older adults. As Alzheimer's disease continues to be a major medical and social challenge, research in this field increasingly focuses on detecting the very earliest signs of cognitive impairment. As many investigate approaches to diagnose and prevent mild cognitive impairment in older adults, the relationship between depressive symptoms and mild cognitive impairment has been less studied. Recent data find an association between depression and very mild cognitive impairment. The combination of cognitive and depression increases the likelihood of institutionalization, increases caregiver burden and decreases survival. It is therefore important to identify risk factors that may affect both cognition and mood. One potential risk factor is vitamin D deficiency, which is associated with falls and fractures, affective disorders, and also has roles in neuroprotection and brain development. Vitamin D is a potent inducer of nerve growth factor and in animal studies has reversed brain injury due to various insults. Although more than half of older adults have vitamin D deficiency, few are treated. This is partly due to the lack of data supporting a role for vitamin D in nonbone related disorders. This application will investigate important relationships between vitamin D deficiency, cognitive function and mood all of which result in excess disability in the elderly.