Locus-coeruleus function in normal elderly and AD risk (LEAD)
Brief description of study
Growing evidence suggests that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathological changes begin decades before clinical symptoms and tau abnormalities in the locus coeruleus (LC) can be observed since midlife. We have previously demonstrated functional vulnerability of the LC to aging and stress, as well as an association between higher CSF tau and impaired sleep phenomena influenced by the LC. We now aim to test whether LC dysfunction can be measured in preclinical AD stages by LC targeted imaging, and whether it objectively affects sleep architecture and attention; by asking 30 cognitively normal older adults to perform a full clinical evaluation, one night of polysomnography, a lumbar puncture (LP) to obtain cerebrospinal fluid, [11C]MRB PET-MR, as well as attention testing.
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