By Nadine A. Yehya
August 14, 2019
(SACRAMENTO) —A team of researchers lead by Brittany Dugger of UC Davis Health has been awarded a $3.8 million grant from the National Institute for Aging (NIA) to help define the neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease in Hispanic cohorts. The five-year grant will fund the first large-scale initiative to present a detailed description of brain manifestations of the Alzheimer’s disease in individuals of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican descent.
Hispanics, one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the U.S., have a higher risk of dementia than Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). The demographic, genetic and environmental differences between individuals of Hispanic descent and NHWs can lead to different levels of disease risk and presentation.
“There is little information on the pathology of dementia affecting people from minority groups, especially for individuals of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican descent,” said Brittany Dugger, assistant professor at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at UC Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento. “We, at UC Davis Health, are very excited that this grant will allow us to build on our expertise in dementia research to gain better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease in these communities and provide insights to improve prevention and treatment.”
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