Medical Imaging Grand Rounds - Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Lifestyle Factors in Dementia Prevention

Title: Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Lifestyle Factors in Dementia Prevention

Speaker: Cyrus Raji, MD, PhD

The Department of Medical Imaging is pleased to have Cyrus Raji, MD, PhD, presenting at our Grand Rounds on October 7th, at 12:00 pm, in a zoom meeting.

Dr. Cyrus Raji joined the Neuroradiology Faculty and the Neuoimaging Laboratories  faculty as an Assistant Professor at the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology in July of 2018. He also holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurology. Dr. Raji completed his two-year neuroradiology fellowship at UCSF in San Francisco, California where he conducted TBI research and MR imaging of connectomes with Dr. Pratik Mukherjee. His MD/PhD training at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and his research focused on the intersection between lifestyle factors and MR imaging biomarkers of brain health including brain structure and perfusion, a research interest he continues to actively engage in. During his time in Pittsburgh, he also was part of the amyloid imaging group at the University of Pittsburgh led by Dr. William Klunk and Dr. Chester Mathis. Dr. Raji also completed a residency in diagnostic radiology at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, where he was awarded the 2016 Radiological Society of North America Roentgen Research Award for outstanding contributions in Radiologic Research. He was also a recipient of the 2017 American Society of Neuroradiology Boeger Award Grant for Alzheimer’s Imaging research and is currently funded by the Radiological Society of North America Research Scholar Grant and a joint WUSTL NIH KL2 Career Development Award. 
 

Abstract: Dementia prevention is increasingly supported by multiple peer-reviewed studies. Neuroradiologists can support these efforts through the application of multimodal brain imaging toward early and subclinical detection of brain disease. Such efforts can lead to subsequent preventive actions through the modification of such risk factors. A key example of this is in the area of age-related cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia with potentially modifiable risk factors such as obesity, diet, sleep, hypertension, diabetes, depression, supplementation, smoking, and physical activity. In studying this link between lifestyle and cognitive decline, brain imaging markers may be instrumental as quantitative measures or even indicators of early disease. This talk will provide an overview of studies detailing how lifestyle factors, such as obesity and physical activity, affect the brain and cognition with aging.