Cognitive Enhancement Through Transcranial Laser Therapy

 描述(由申请人提供)：心血管疾病与认知功能下降有关，即使在没有血管性痴呆的患者中也是如此。考虑到这些疾病在美国的高患病率，以及认知是老年人生活质量和功能能力的最重要决定因素，早期干预以保护心血管风险患者的认知功能对于确保我们日益增长的老年人口的成功老龄化至关重要。虽然理想的干预可以恢复最初的心血管状态，但由于各种原因，这通常是不可能的。另一种选择 方法是通过上调线粒体呼吸来支持大脑能量生产。一种非常有前途的新干预措施是经颅低强度激光治疗(LLLT)，它带有定向 来自红外激光的低功率和高通量光能，以刺激大脑能量的产生。LLLT是安全、非侵入性和治疗有益的，促进能量产生、基因表达和防止细胞死亡。本项目的目标是测试LLLT在增强中年人神经认知功能方面的有效性，并检查颈动脉粥样硬化的调节影响。具体目标将在随机对照试验(RCT)中实现，方法是检测中年人在LLLT或安慰剂干预8周前后的认知测试表现和对工作记忆任务的血氧水平依赖(BOLD)反应。此外，我们还将检查颈动脉内膜-中层厚度(IMT)是否影响LLLT的疗效。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cardiovascular diseases are associated with diminished cognitive function, even in patients without vascular dementia. Considering the high prevalence of these disorders in the United States, and the fact that cognition is the most important determinant of quality of life and functional ability in older age, early interventions t preserve cognitive function in patients at cardiovascular risk are crucial for ensuring the successful aging of our growing elderly population. While an ideal intervention would restore the original cardiovascular status, that is often not possible for a variety of reasons. An alternative approach is to support brain energy production by up-regulating mitochondrial respiration. One highly promising novel intervention is transcranial low-level laser therapy (LLLT) with directional low-power and high-fluence light energy from infrared lasers to stimulate brain energy production. LLLT is safe, non-invasive and therapeutically beneficial, promoting enhancement of energy production, gene expression and prevention of cell death. The goal of this project is to test the efficacy of LLLT to enhance neurocognitive function in middle-aged adults and examine the modulating influences of carotid atherosclerosis. The specific aims will be accomplished in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) by examining cognitive test performance and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response to a working memory task in middle-aged adults pre- and post- 8-week long intervention of LLLT or placebo. In addition, we will examine if carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) moderates the therapeutic effects of LLLT.