Imagine a future where Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented or slowed down by simply improving cardiovascular health. This is the groundbreaking potential of a study being conducted in North Carolina. The Alzheimer’s Association has awarded almost $200,000 to a research team at Wake Forest University School of Medicine that is studying how genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease change as we age and the impact of cardiovascular health on the disease progression, and specifically if modifying cardiovascular risk impacts Alzheimer’s determinants.
Lead researcher Da Ma, Ph.D. and his teams with Wake Forest Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) and Wake Forest Center for Artificial Intelligence Research (CAIR), in collaboration with the Wisconsin ADRC, are studying over 3,000 adults age 55 to 90 years old to determine how genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease change when cardiovascular and insulin risk factors are modified through healthy lifestyle changes.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association 2024 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, “Experts believe that Alzheimer’s dementia, like other common chronic diseases and conditions, develops as a result of multiple factors rather than a single cause. Although age, genetics and family history cannot be changed, some risk factors can be changed or modified to reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Examples of modifiable risk factors are physical activity, smoking, education, staying socially and mentally active, blood pressure and diet. Many factors that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease are also associated with a higher risk of dementia. These factors include hypertension, diabetes and smoking. Likewise, factors that decrease risk of cardiovascular disease are associated with decreased risk of dementia.”
Dr. Ma’s research will combine brain imaging, genomic, cardiovascular risk factors, metabolic risk factors and obesity risk factors, along with AI tools to study how Alzheimer’s disease risk and disease progression changes when modifiable risks are improved. This research could pave the way for new preventive strategies, offering hope to millions of families affected by Alzheimer’s.
The Alzheimer’s Association funds more Alzheimer’s and dementia research than any other nonprofit globally to accelerate the field towards solutions for the global Alzheimer’s crisis. The Association is currently investing $430 million in more than 1,150 active projects in 57 countries spanning six continents. This grant award comes through the Association’s 2025 International Research Grant Program.
“In this project, our team aims to unravel the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease and help develop potential disease-modifying strategies by studying two of its most important risk factors: genomic and cardiometabolic risks,” said principal investigator Da Ma, Ph.D., assistant professor, Wake Forest School of Medicine. “Cardiometabolic risk factors are modifiable through lifestyle changes. Genomic factors, although non-modifiable, provide crucial information about the common biological pathways that affect both cardiometabolic and brain health. By studying their combined effects on Alzheimer’s, we hope to discover novel information that could shed light on how to help develop effective intervention strategies for personalized intervention strategies.”
“We are thrilled to see important research like this being done right here in North Carolina,” said Katherine L. Lambert, regional VP, Alzheimer’s Association NC, SC and GA Chapters. “Grants like this represent our commitment to advancing scientific understanding and developing new treatment strategies. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia, and through our wide-ranging initiatives, we aim to improve care for those affected and enhance our knowledge of brain health and disease prevention. Together, we can make significant strides towards a future free from Alzheimer’s.”
About Da Ma, Ph.D.
Da Ma has research expertise in developing artificial intelligence on multi-modal medical imaging data, such as neuroimaging and genomics, in developing data-driven solutions to Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Ma obtained his doctoral degree at the University College London in UK, and received postdoctoral training at Simon Fraser University in Canada before joining Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is a previous recipient of the Canadian Alzheimer Society Research Program Fellowship. He has also previously received pilot awards from Wake Forest ADRC and CAIR, which set the foundational works that led to the current projects funded by the Alzheimer’s Association.
About the Alzheimer’s Association’s commitment to research
Attracting more scientists to the Alzheimer’s field is a high priority goal of the Alzheimer’s Association. The Association is a leader in funding early-career scientists working on new ideas in Alzheimer’s and all other dementia research, and in supporting researchers from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
Alzheimer’s Association funding has led to some of the most important research breakthroughs, including the first Alzheimer’s drug studies and recent treatment discoveries, the ability to visualize Alzheimer’s-related changes in the living brain, and advances toward blood tests. The Association also supports research that improves care for people with dementia and optimizes services for caregivers and families.
About Alzheimer’s disease
Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It kills more Americans than diabetes, and more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. More than 7 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report. In North Carolina, over 210,000 are living with the disease. By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s is projected to increase to nearly 13 million, barring the development of medical breakthroughs to prevent, slow or stop the disease.
Join the Alzheimer’s Association in supporting groundbreaking research like this.
- Visit our website to learn how you can contribute to the fight against Alzheimer’s.
- Without clinical trials, there can be no better treatments, no prevention and no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Learn more about opportunities to participate in clinical trials on Alzheimer’s and other dementias.
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