APOE Genotype Effects on Triglycerides and Blood Flow in the Human Brain
University of Washington
Summary
High fat feeding (HFF) increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) but individuals who carry the AD risk gene E4 paradoxically improve after acute HFF. The investigators propose to further study this phenomenon with a clinical study to assess cerebral blood flow which can be measured by a technique called arterial spin labeling (ASL) on an MRI and is tightly related to brain metabolism.
Description
Overview: The purpose of the study is to enroll 90 older adults, half of whom will have E4 carrier status, to assess whether E4 status affects change in global cerebral blood flow (∆CBF) in response to a high fat drink. The screening visit includes informed consent, baseline blood draw, oral triglyceride tolerance test (OTTT), and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). The study visit involves assessing cerebral blood flow using arterial spin labeling (ASL) MRI - at baseline and at 2 hours after drinking heavy cream. The study visit will also include 6 blood draws and a 30 minute cognitive b…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 55+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Aged 55 or older at the date of the screening visit 2. Equal representation of APOE E4 carriers and non-carriers 3. Strive for equal numbers of men and women; women need to be post-menopausal for at least 1 year or medical equivalent (hysterectomy) 4. Able to read and understand English 5. Able to cognitively and physically give informed consent 6.Able to undergo an MRI and ingest dairy products Exclusion Criteria: 1. Diabetes requiring medication: Known type 1 or type 2 diabetes requiring oral diabetic medications or insulin. Diet-controlled diabetes, 'pre-diabetes,'…
Interventions
- Dietary SupplementHeavy Cream
100 ml of dairy cream with 40.4g of total fat, to ingest orally
Location
- University of Washington Medical CenterSeattle, Washington