The Effects of Body Mass Index on Hippocampal Volume in Women with Down Syndrome

Conference Year

January 2021

Abstract

Abstract

Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) show significant development and aggressive progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at a significantly earlier age than neurotypical individuals. The risk of AD is also particularly high in perimenopausal women with DS; it is even higher than the risk of AD in neurotypical perimenopausal women, which in turn, is higher than the risk of AD in neurotypical males. The DS population, as a whole, has a lower hippocampal volume and a higher prevalence of obesity when compared to the neurotypical population. This study will examine the relationship between BMI on hippocampal volumes in women with DS. MRI imaging, demographic data, and physical assessment data from women with DS aged 25-75 was obtained via access to the Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium -Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) study database and will be examined in order to evaluate the relationship between BMI and hippocampal volume. FreeSurfer will be used to analyze hippocampal volume from MRI images and BMI will be calculated for each subject. With the earlier onset and higher risk of AD in female DS subjects and their higher prevalence of obesity, the study of this unique cohort may be helpful in furthering AD research in populations most vulnerable to the disease progression.

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Julie Dumas

Secondary Mentor Name

Alicia Ebert

Faculty/Staff Collaborators

Julie Dumas (Thesis Advisor), Alicia Ebert (CAS Advisor)

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

College of Arts and Sciences

Program/Major

Neuroscience

Primary Research Category

Biological Sciences

Abstract only.

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The Effects of Body Mass Index on Hippocampal Volume in Women with Down Syndrome

Abstract

Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) show significant development and aggressive progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at a significantly earlier age than neurotypical individuals. The risk of AD is also particularly high in perimenopausal women with DS; it is even higher than the risk of AD in neurotypical perimenopausal women, which in turn, is higher than the risk of AD in neurotypical males. The DS population, as a whole, has a lower hippocampal volume and a higher prevalence of obesity when compared to the neurotypical population. This study will examine the relationship between BMI on hippocampal volumes in women with DS. MRI imaging, demographic data, and physical assessment data from women with DS aged 25-75 was obtained via access to the Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium -Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) study database and will be examined in order to evaluate the relationship between BMI and hippocampal volume. FreeSurfer will be used to analyze hippocampal volume from MRI images and BMI will be calculated for each subject. With the earlier onset and higher risk of AD in female DS subjects and their higher prevalence of obesity, the study of this unique cohort may be helpful in furthering AD research in populations most vulnerable to the disease progression.