Core 2: Laboratory Services Core

SWAN-Aging将检验中年健康和更年期过渡（MT）与女性成功衰老的关系。实验室服务核心（核心2）为实现三个综合项目的科学目标提供关键支持：项目1将评估MT和中年健康如何与保持认知功能（避免认知衰退和轻度认知障碍的发作）、睡眠、泌尿生殖系统和性功能以及老年早期的生活质量相关；项目2将测试MT如何与早期老年妇女的心脏健康和心血管疾病（CVD）事件相关，并测试心脏健康如何与生命中关键时期的身体损伤、阿尔茨海默病和血管性痴呆的早期标志物相关；项目3将研究MT和中年健康对肌肉骨骼和身体功能的作用。Core 2将以临床配体分析卫星服务（CLASS）实验室为基础，该实验室将通过协调在CLASS和其他两个实验室进行的生物标志物分析，直接支持SWAN-Aging目标。自SWAN成立以来，CLASS一直是内分泌和细胞因子检测的中心实验室，并承担了创建生物样本收集试剂盒，协调运往和从临床地点运输，接收冷冻样本，生物银行以及协调或执行所有代谢和心血管检测的责任。Core 2将对所有实验室组件进行监督，并将通过提供可靠和有效的性激素（通过液相色谱串联质谱）、心脏代谢健康（葡萄糖、胰岛素、脂质、半乳糖凝集素-3）和与多系统衰老相关的生物标志物（IL-10、NTproBNP）来支持项目。核心2将与行政核心（核心1）和数据收集和数据管理核心（核心3）协调，以确保标本收集和数据转移的质量，并将：1)监督在诊所就诊时收集的46,500个新标本的准备和转移，并从库中检索16,400个储存的样本；2)进行符合CAP和生物库指南标准的高质量检测，包括更敏感的性激素检测；3)及时将检测结果提供给core3进行数据清理和分析；4)为科学目的测试激素、心血管标志物和细胞因子与心血管疾病事件、骨骼健康、睡眠、社会心理健康、身体功能和多个认知领域的关系，以检测认知障碍（执行和视觉空间功能、语言流畅性）和认知缺陷的功能影响（日常生活中需要认知的工具活动）提供分析结果的解释。对提出的中年标记物的严格测量独特地定位SWAN-Aging，以测试女性身体和认知功能变化以及多发病、残疾和认知障碍发病的新预测因子。在认知障碍的自然史早期确定痴呆风险的可补救风险因素，对于促进健康老龄化和预防女性痴呆，包括阿尔茨海默病和血管性痴呆，至关重要。

SWAN-Aging will test the relation of midlife health and the menopause transition (MT) to successful aging in women. The Laboratory Services Core (Core 2) provides critical support for addressing the scientific aims of three integrated Projects: Project 1 will evaluate how the MT and midlife health relate to preservation of cognitive function (avoiding cognitive decline and onset of mild cognitive impairment), sleep, genitourinary and sexual function, and quality of life in early old age; Project 2 will test how the MT relates to cardiac health and cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in women in early old age and test how cardiac health relates to early markers of physical impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, and vascular dementia at a critical period in the lifespan; and Project 3 will examine the role of the MT and midlife health on musculoskeletal and physical function. Core 2 will be based at The Clinical Ligand Assay Satellite Services (CLASS) Laboratory which will directly support SWAN-Aging aims by coordinating biomarker assays run at CLASS and at two other labs. CLASS has been the Central Laboratory for endocrine and cytokine assays since SWAN’s inception and has assumed responsibility for creating biosample collection kits, coordination of shipping to and from clinical sites, receiving frozen samples, biobanking, and coordinating or performing all metabolic and cardiovascular assays. Core 2 will provide oversight for all laboratory components and will support the Projects by providing reliable and valid measures of sex hormones (by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectroscopy), cardio-metabolic health (glucose, insulin, lipids, galectin-3), and biomarkers relevant to multisystem aging (IL-10, NTproBNP). Core 2 will coordinate with the Administrative Core (Core 1) and the Data Collection and Data Management Core (Core 3) to ensure the quality of specimen collections and data transfer, and will: 1) Oversee preparation and transfer of 46,500 new specimens collected at clinic visits and retrieve 16,400 stored samples from the Repository; 2) Conduct high quality assays meeting the standards of CAP and Biorepository guidelines, including more sensitive sex hormone assays; 3) Provide assay results to Core 3 in a timely fashion for data cleaning and analysis; 4) Provide leadership on the interpretation of assay results for scientific aims testing relationships of hormones, cardiovascular markers, and cytokines to CVD events, bone health, sleep, psychosocial well-being, physical function, and multiple domains of cognition to detect cognitive impairment (executive and visual-spatial function, language fluency) and the functional impact of cognitive deficits (cognitively demanding instrumental activities of daily living). Rigorous measurement of the proposed markers over midlife uniquely position SWAN-Aging to test novel predictors of changes in physical and cognitive function and the onset of multi-morbidity, disability, and cognitive impairment in women. Identifying remediable risk factors for dementia risk early in the natural history of cognitive impairment is critical to promoting healthy aging and to preventing dementias, including Alzheimer’s Disease and vascular dementia, in women.