D-055
GeNED.ar: a cohort for Brain Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Risk Assessment in Argentina
Maria Barbara Postillone1, Mariana Nahir Vallejo Azar1, Pilar Freccero1, Juan Pablo Princich1, Julio Cesar Fernandez Campuzano1, Giselle Mereles1, Patricia Solis1,2, Ines Mintz1,2, Nancy Medel1,2, Julieta Lisso1,2, Zulma Sevillano1,2, Nicolas Irureta1,2, Silvia Kochen1, Paula Natalia Gonzalez1, María Carolina Dalmasso1
  1. UE Estudios en Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos (CONICET-Universidad Nacional Arturo Jauretche-Hospital SAMIC El Cruce)
  2. Clínica de la Memoria, Atención Médica Integral, Hospital el Cruce
Presenting Author:
Maria Barbara Postillone
mbpostillone@gmail.com
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder linked to aging. It is multifactorial, with genetic risks interacting with environmental and lifestyle factors. Non-European populations, particularly in low and middle-income countries, are still underrepresented in AD research, despite the importance of genetic and socio-environmental diversity. Considering this, we initiated a cohort representative of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (Argentina). Recruitment is continuous, including healthy adults over 18 and patients older than 60 attending the Memory Clinic of El Cruce Hospital. The protocol, approved by the ethics committee, comprises brain 3T MRI, blood sampling for genetic and plasma biomarker analyses, a socio-environmental survey with demographic and clinical data, and handedness/footedness questionnaires. Participants over 60 years old also undergo neurocognitive evaluation. To date, the cohort includes 489 individuals (339 women, 150 men), 56% older than 60 years, with 30% of them reporting <12 years of education. Preliminary analyses show that 91.4% have MRI, 59.4% are genotyped, 30.5% have plasma biomarker data, and about 67.7% present ≥30% Native American ancestry. This study will contribute to identifying biomarkers and risk factors relevant to precision medicine in diverse populations.