Data-driven discovery of associations between prescribed drugs and dementia risk: A systematic review.

Abstract: Recent clinical trials on slowing dementia progression have led to renewed focus on finding safer, more effective treatments. One approach to identify plausible candidates is to assess whether existing medications for other conditions may affect dementia risk. We conducted a systematic review to identify studies adopting a data-driven approach to investigate the association between a wide range of prescribed medications and dementia risk.

Association of aging acceleration with serum neurofilament light chain levels: Implications for the roles of modifiable aging factors.

Introduction: Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a specific biomarker of neuroaxonal damage and related neurodegenerative diseases. Aging acceleration, which reflects the impact of modifiable factors on the aging process, is increasingly recognized for its relevance. While normal aging is known to contribute substantially to neuroaxonal damage and many neurodegenerative diseases, the effects of aging acceleration warrant further investigation.

Frailty Trajectories Preceding Dementia in the US and UK.

Importance: An accessible marker of both biological age and dementia risk is crucial to advancing dementia prevention and treatment strategies. Although frailty is a candidate for that role, the nature of the relationship between frailty and dementia is not well understood.

Objective: To clarify the temporal relationship between frailty and incident dementia by investigating frailty trajectories in the years preceding dementia onset.

Brisk Walking Pace Offsets Venous Thromboembolism Risk Equivalent to Established Monogenic Mutations.

Background:  Mendelian mutations in the Prothrombin gene () and the factor V Leiden gene () genes are established risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Walking pace is associated with the risk of coronary artery diseases, but no study has investigated its association with VTE. This study aimed to investigate the association and causality between walking pace and VTE, compare its population risk with established Mendelian mutations, and determine if blood biomarkers mediate its effect.

Harnessing transcriptomic signals for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to identify novel drugs and enhance risk prediction.

Introduction: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease. This study integrates common genetic association results from the latest ALS genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary statistics with functional genomic annotations with the aim of providing mechanistic insights into ALS risk loci, inferring drug repurposing opportunities, and enhancing prediction of ALS risk and clinical characteristics.

Methods: Genes associated with ALS were identified using GWAS summary statistic methodology including SuSiE SNP-based fine-mapping, and transcriptome- and proteome-wide association study (TWAS/PWAS) analyses.