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A federally funded study with sites in the U.S., Argentina and Nigeria will examine COVID-19’s long-term effects on cognition in older adults. The U.S. National Institute on Aging (NIA) awarded $32 million to The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio to coordinate the study. Researchers will focus on the recruitment and analysis of populations most severely affected by long COVID.
SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The long-term effects of COVID-19 on cognition in older adults will be studied over five years thanks to a $32 million federal grant to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (also known as UT Health San Antonio).
The National Institute on Aging (NIA) grant, with UT Health San Antonio as the coordinating center, focuses on recruitment and analysis of populations most severely affected by long COVID:
Hispanic Mexican Americans in San Antonio and Laredo, Texas.
Hispanics and African Americans of Caribbean descent in the Bronx, New York.
Non-tribal Native Americans in Seattle, Wash.
Amerindians in Jujuy, Argentina.
Africans of Yoruba descent in Ibadan, Nigeria.
“Cognitive impairments are seen in some adults over the age of 60 who suffer from long COVID, and this decline appears to be progressive. We will examine the genetics of other older people in those express lineage cohorts that have been found to have a higher threat of COVID in the aftermath of the pandemic. “said the study’s principal investigator, Gabriel de Erausquin, MD, PhD, MSc, professor of neurology at UT Health San Antonio’s Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s disease and neurodegenerative diseases.
The researchers will conduct whole genome sequencing on samples from 4,300 study participants to understand the genetic diversifications that some older adults suffer from long-term cognitive decline due to COVID. They will also seek to identify the diversifications that make other people over 60 more likely to suffer impairments.
“What is the underlying biology?” de Erausquin asked. “We have some preliminary genetic data already, but we’ve only looked at 500 individuals, so we are early in the process.”
Recruiting is done in San Antonio and Laredo, he said. In Webb County, the Biggs Institute partners with the Laredo Health Department and the University of Texas Laredo Research and Education Center.
The researchers will also analyze biomarkers from blood samples taken at normal periods during the five years. The proteins and antibodies present in the plasma are expected to shed light on the immune responses over time in the participants.
The team will also perform magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies to detect whether there is a narrowing of brain structures similar to memory function.
“In particular, our collective efforts are expected to shed light on the genetic and other aspects that predispose other people to developing Alzheimer’s disease after COVID-19 and other infections,” de Erausquin said.
The Alzheimer’s Association is contributing financially to this initiative on three continents. The partnership will move to Washington University in St. John’s. St. Louis, Missouri, which leads the study’s core biomarker studies, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, which is leading a study on biomarkers as predictors of outcomes.
International Consortium
The Alzheimer’s Association Consortium on Chronic Neuropsychiatric Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 began in 2021 and includes player registration sites. “The initial money from the Alzheimer’s Association supported the creation of this foreign consortium,” de Erausquin said. “This earlier investment also funded knowledge gathering in Argentina in the first two years of the pandemic. “
The Argentine sample is from inhabitants of the Andes region on the country’s border with Chile and Bolivia. De Erausquin spent time there during and after the acute phase of the pandemic getting the effort underway.
Reflecting Demographics
South Texas is another target. “The San Antonio and Laredo sample will be 60% to 90% Hispanic, matching the ethnic makeup of the region,” de Erausquin said.
The goal of the five recruitment sites is to identify and enroll a study population that is as representative as possible of underrepresented minorities and comprised of the ethnic groups most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
UT Health San Antonio is the primary recipient of the grant and contractors will go on to Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the University of Washington in Seattle, the Laredo Department of Health, the FULTRA Foundation in Argentina and the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. .
Remarks
The project is titled “Interaction between SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Ancestral Genomic Variations in the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease” (ISAVRAD).
De Erausquin is the Zachry Foundation Distinguished Professor of Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Clinical Care and the Greehey Family Foundation Distinguished University Professor of Alzheimer’s Disease Research at UT Health San Antonio. He directs at the Biggs Institute and the Research Imaging Institute at UT Health San Antonio.
The Biggs Institute is a national center of excellence that, in collaboration with the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, is the state’s designated Alzheimer’s Research Center (ADRC) through the National Institute on Aging.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio), the leading force behind San Antonio’s $44. 1 billion healthcare and biosciences industry, is the establishment of largest educational studies in South Texas, with an annual study portfolio of more than $400. million. . Generating a truly extensive economic impact with its six vocational schools, a diverse workforce of 7,900 people, an annual spending budget of $1. 46 billion and clinical practices that provide care to 2. 6 million patients each year UT Health San Antonio plans to create more than 1,500 higher-paying jobs over the next five years to serve San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas. To learn more about the many tactics of We Improvement Lives®, visit UTHealthSA. org.
The Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s Disease and Neurodegenerative Diseases is committed to offering comprehensive dementia care while advancing treatment through clinical trials and research. The Biggs Institute is a designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) through the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In addition to patient care and research, the Biggs Institute partners with the UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing to offer the Caring for the Caregiver program.
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Media Contact
Will Sansom, UT San Antonio Health Sciences Center, 210-567-2579, sansom@uthscsa. edu, www. uthscsa. edu
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SOURCE: UT San Antonio Health Sciences Center