Title: PFAS and Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD)

Funding: NIH/NIEHS (National Institute of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

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Principal Investigators: Melissa Furlong, PhD

Goal

Evaluate contributions of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) among firefighters to neurological outcomes, benefits of plasma donation on neurological outcomes, and an exploratory aim of whether plasma donation is associated with broader changes in the proteome.

Specific Aims

1.     Estimate associations of PFAS at baseline with changes in Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD)  biomarkers, cognition, and prodromal ADRD markers over time, among controls in the randomized control trial RCT (N=350).

2.     Test whether assignment to plasma donation leads to improved ADRD-related outcomes over time (Aim 2a), and to what extent those effects are mediated by PFAS reduction (Aim 2b).

Evaluate the effect of plasma donation on proteomic age, neurologic age, and an untargeted plasma proteomics panel (SomaScan) at the 12 month follow-up to identify other possible health effects.

Anticipated Impact

This proposal explores contributions of PFAS exposures to cognition and ADRD, possible ADRD-related health benefits of plasmapheresis and PFAS removal in humans, and additional possible health benefits of therapeutic plasma exchange.

Study Updates

  • TBD