NIMHANS and USC Launch Five-Year Research Project to Study Brain Ageing

The National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, and the University of Southern California (USC), United States of America Thursday launched their collaborative five-year research project to study brain ageing. The project ‘India ENIGMA Initiative for Global Aging and Mental Health’ aims at bridging the knowledge gap around the various factors influencing brain ageing. The project has received a research grant of Rs 21 crore from the National Institute on Aging (NIA)/National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA and was approved by the union health ministry. The Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) consortium, headed by Dr. Paul M. Thompson, Director, Imaging Genetics Centre (IGC), USC, has brought together researchers who study major brain diseases, from around 40 countries. This study includes comprehensive assessment of risk and protective factors through clinical interview, memory and cognitive tests, blood investigations and brain imaging (MRI scan). The researchers will follow up with the 400 participants over two years to understand the contribution of these factors to the risk of developing dementia. Director of NIMHANS, Dr Pratima Murthy said, “Healthcare is moving fast towards health promotion, which is very important for common medical disorders like diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases as well as dementia and other neurological and psychiatric disorders.”