NIH funds major study on brain aging in Hispanic-Latino communities

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded UC Davis Health a $15.85 million grant to support the next phase of one of the nation's most extensive studies on brain aging in Hispanic-Latino communities.

Latinos are one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States. They also have a higher risk of heart and vascular diseases and are more prone to developing mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia than people from other groups. Still, Latinos remain underrepresented in research on aging and dementia.

The grant will support the creation of the most comprehensive long-term dataset on Hispanic and Latino brain aging to date.

"Our goal is to identify the factors that matter most for healthy cognitive aging - and ultimately reduce the burden of dementia for millions of families. Our new study will give us an unprecedented ability to understand how the brain changes over time in Latino communities," said Charles DeCarli, UC Davis distinguished professor of neurology and the study's principal investigator. DeCarli is also the co-director of the UC Davis Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.