Exploring Biological Pathways in Alzheimer’s Disease Using Polygenic Scores, MRI and Blood Biomarkers (360G-Wellcome-211005_Z_18_Z)

Studies have identified lots of small genetic changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. They relate to disease processes like immunity, inflammation cholesterol metabolism. I aim to: - Examine small changes in groups of genes related to disease processes. I will do this by creating 'genetic scores' for different processes. - Explore associations between the 'genetic scores' and changes on brain scans, blood tests for inflammatory markers and cholesterol, and memory function. I will use information from large groups of people which has already been collected from other large studies: an in-house cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, and UK Biobank. These include different age groups, so I can potentially identify the earliest events in the disease. My project will have unprecedented ability to detect differences because the total number of participants is so big. The findings of this study could help us to identify those who might benefit from particular treatments in clinical trials. This will help to focus efforts to find novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease.