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Harvard Medical School

Deborah Blacker | MA, United States

Harvard Medical School

Deborah Blacker | MA, United States

Alzheimers Disease Modifiable Risk Database

This is a proposal to extend the current support on our Alzheimer's Modifiable Disease Risk Database and to add two new entries to the site. The prior support was for entries on the impact on AD risk of statin use (complete, to be posted once a companion manuscript is in press) and blood lipid levels (well underway). The proposed support is for entries on vitamin D intake and on blood pressure control and specific blood pressure medications. This database, known as AlzRisk, is an online compendium of environmental risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease hosted by the Alzheimer Research Forum (www.alzforum.org). It was developed in collaboration with AlzForum web developers, and aims to provide systematic review, cataloguing, and meta-analysis (where feasible) of the impact of these risk factors in the context of a rigorous methodological discussion. It is intended as a resource for the Alzheimer's disease research community, similar to AlzGene, AlzForum's online compendium of Alzheimer's disease genetics findings which served as an early model for the site. AlzRisk offers a compendium of risk factor data on 10 risk factors, with several more in the pipeline. Each entry includes a systematic review of the prospective cohort data in tabular form and a rigorous methodological discussion of the strengths and limitations of the evidence, and a "Current Understanding" text that gives the bottom line for each. Where feasible, we include a meta-analysis of the available data. Such information can be used to plan follow up research and clinical trials, to assess personal risk, to support medical recommendations and public health practice, and to generate a comprehensive risk profile to guide prevention efforts.