BEACoN 2.0 – $13M Grant Funded!

We are pleased to announce that the BEACoN Study has been renewed for another five years by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), receiving an additional $13 million in funding, bringing the total project funding to close to $20 million. 

BEACoN 2.0 specifically focuses on cerebrovascular injury and dysfunction (CVID). You have probably heard before that heart health is important for brain health. Even in the absence of severe heart disease or major strokes, the brain’s vascular supply is vulnerable to the aging process. 

CVID is more commonly found in Black and Hispanic older adults and could help explain the increased prevalence of AD in these groups. BEACoN 2.0 focuses recruitment on the Hispanic/Latino and Black communities in Southern California to understand this increased risk. 

The study will include new in-person and at-home assessments, MRI and PET scans, blood draw, physical and functional assessments as well, digital cognitive tests as well as paper-and-pencil tests of memory and thinking. All of our testingtools are also available in Spanish. ¡Se habla español!

Research Studies for Alzheimer’s disease gain new perspective with BEACoN

Clinical trials for dementia face the problems of improving diagnosis, treatment and prevention. As our population ages, the field is understanding now more than ever, the importance of establishing reliable biomarkers that place people at risk for dementia in later life. Additionally, minoritized communities will suffer a higher burden of Alzheimer’s disease because of higher risk factors including rates of diabetes and vascular disease, socioeconomic factors, racism and discrimination, as well as reduced access to, and use of health services. Understanding the disease is critical, but developing an understanding of how different risk factors interact to affect different groups and result in higher disease burden is also fundamentally important. In the BEACoN Collaboratory at UC Irvine, our research studies seek to do just that.

BEACoN (Brain Exploration in Aging, Cognition and Neurodegeneration) 

BEACoN is an interdisciplinary research program at UC Irvine that partners with the local communities in Southern California to better understand the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages. Community volunteers who qualify for the study are invited to participate in BEACoN where they receive comprehensive memory testing, brain imaging, assessment of blood and saliva samples, and completion of surveys and other tools. We would like to understand what factors put certain individuals at risk more than others. These research data will be used to improve future therapeutic interventions and inform prevention strategies.

Participants may be eligible if they:

• Are adults ages 60 and above;
• Willing to come to UC Irvine Campus for visits (transportation can be provided);
• Have a person to designate as a study partner who know them well enough to answer questions about their memory ability;
• Are good candidates for MRI and PET;
• Are in good general health and have not been diagnosed with a memory condition.

If you are interested in participating in the BEACoN study, please click on the Participate button on the right side of your screen to contact our research team.