Miriam T. Ashford
A5024217578- Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Health, Environment, Cognitive Aging
- Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Ethics in Clinical Research
- Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
- Machine Learning in Healthcare
- Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
- Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Frailty in Older Adults
- Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
- Neurological Disorders and Treatments
- Cholinesterase and Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Bioinformatics and Genomic Networks
- Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Health Policy Implementation Science
- Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Social Media in Health Education
- Mental Health Research Topics
- Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life
- Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
- Mental Health and Patient Involvement
- Metabolomics and Mass Spectrometry Studies
San Francisco VA Medical Center
2020-2025
Advanced Imaging Research (United States)
2021-2025
Northern California Institute for Research and Education
2020-2025
University of California System
2024
University of California, San Francisco
2021-2024
Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
2022-2024
The University of Arizona Global Campus
2023
Landscape Research Group
2023
Authorised Association Consortium
2023
Union Bank of Switzerland
2023
The gap between chronological age (CA) and biological brain age, as estimated from magnetic resonance images (MRIs), reflects how individual patterns of neuroanatomic aging deviate their typical trajectories. MRI-derived (BA) estimates are often obtained using deep learning models that may perform relatively poorly on new data or lack interpretability. This study introduces a convolutional neural network (CNN) to estimate BA after training the MRIs 4,681 cognitively normal (CN) participants...
Importance Increased white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume is a common magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) finding in both autosomal dominant Alzheimer disease (ADAD) and late-onset (LOAD), but it remains unclear whether increased WMH along the AD continuum reflective of AD-intrinsic processes or secondary to elevated systemic vascular risk factors. Objective To estimate associations neurodegeneration parenchymal vessel amyloidosis with accumulation investigate associated beyond these...
Abstract Mechanisms of resilience against tau pathology in individuals across the Alzheimer’s disease spectrum are insufficiently understood. Longitudinal data necessary to reveal which factors relate preserved cognition (i.e. cognitive resilience) and brain structure despite abundant pathology, clarify whether these associations cross-sectional or longitudinal. We used a longitudinal study design investigate role several demographic, biological structural yielding as measured with PET. In...
Abstract Plasma phosphorylated-tau181 (p-tau181) showed the potential for Alzheimer’s diagnosis and prognosis, but its role in detecting cerebral pathologies is unclear. We aimed to evaluate whether it could serve as a marker pathology brain. A total of 1189 participants with plasma p-tau181 PET data amyloid, tau or FDG were included from ADNI. Cross-sectional relationships biomarkers tested. Longitudinally, we further investigated different levels at baseline predicted progression...
Abstract A biological research framework to define Alzheimer’ disease with dichotomized biomarker measurement was proposed by National Institute on Aging–Alzheimer’s Association (NIA–AA). However, it cannot characterize the hierarchy spreading pattern of tau pathology. To reflect in vivo progression using biomarker, we constructed a refined topographic 18 F-AV-1451 PET staging scheme longitudinal clinical validation. Seven hundred and thirty-four participants baseline (baseline age 73.9 ±...
The poor generalizability of clinical research data due to the enrollment highly educated, non-Latinx White participants hampers development therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Black and Latinx older adults have a greater risk dementia, yet it is unclear how health-care disparities sociocultural factors influence potential AD prognosis. Low under-represented populations may be attributable several including exclusion higher rates comorbidities, lower access clinics, legacy unethical...
Remote, internet-based methods for recruitment, screening, and longitudinally assessing older adults have the potential to facilitate Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials observational studies.
An analysis of the ethnocultural and socioeconomic composition Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) participants is needed to assess generalizability ADNI data diverse populations.
The Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) is a well-validated instrument widely used to detect and stage dementia due Alzheimer disease. digital Electronic (eCDR) can be remotely self-administered automatically scored, with potential facilitate efficient screening staging.To evaluate the association of eCDR CDR other in-clinic assessments for older adults cognitive impairment.This multisite, cross-sectional study baseline data from longitudinal, observational 2020 2023, including up 3 years...
This study aimed to understand whether older adults' longitudinal completion of assessments in an online Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD)-related registry is influenced by self-reported medical conditions.
Abstract INTRODUCTION We evaluated preliminary feasibility of a digital, culturally‐informed approach to recruit and screen participants for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI4). METHODS Participants were recruited using digital advertising completed surveys (e.g., demographics, medical exclusion criteria, 12‐item Everyday Cognition Scale [ECog‐12]), Novoic Storyteller speech‐based cognitive test). Completion rates assessment performance compared between underrepresented...
Abstract Backgrounds Digital, online assessments are efficient means to detect early cognitive decline, but few studies have investigated the relationship between remotely collected subjective change and decline. We hypothesized that Everyday Cognition Scale (ECog), a measure, predicts longitudinal in cognition Brain Health Registry (BHR), an registry for neuroscience research. Methods This study included BHR participants aged 55 + who completed both baseline ECog repeated administrations of...
Longitudinal imaging data are routinely acquired for health studies and patient monitoring. A central goal in longitudinal is tracking relevant change over time. Traditional methods remove nuisance variation with custom pipelines to focus on significant changes. In this work, we present a machine learning–based method that automatically ignores irrelevant changes extracts the time-varying signal of interest. Our method, called Learning-based Inference imAge Changes (LILAC), performs pairwise...
Brain age (BA), distinct from chronological (CA), can be estimated MRIs to evaluate neuroanatomic aging in cognitively normal (CN) individuals. BA, however, is a cross-sectional measure that summarizes cumulative since birth. Thus, it conveys poorly recent or contemporaneous trends, which better quantified by the (temporal) pace P of brain aging. Many approaches map , rely on quantifying DNA methylation whole-blood cells, blood–brain barrier separates neural cells. We introduce...
Among the participants of Alzheimer disease (AD) treatment trials, 40% do not show cognitive decline over 80 weeks follow-up. Identifying and excluding these individuals can increase power to detect effects. We aimed develop machine learning-based predictive models identify persons unlikely on placebo weeks. used data from arm EXPEDITION3 AD clinical trial a subpopulation Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Participants in were patients with mild dementia biomarker evidence...
Postpartum anxiety can have adverse effects on the mother and child if left untreated. Time constraints stigma are common barriers to postpartum treatment. Web-based treatments offer potential flexibility anonymity. What Am I Worried About (WaWa) is a self-guided treatment based cognitive-behavioral mindfulness principles for women experiencing anxiety. WaWa was developed in Australia consists of 9 modules with optional weekly telephone support. adapted version use England (Internet-based...
Abstract Females are disproportionately affected by dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. Despite a similar amyloid-β (Aβ) load, higher load of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) is seen in females than males. Previous literature has proposed that Aβ and phosphorylated-tau (p-tau) synergism accelerates tau tangle formation, yet the effect biological sex this process been overlooked. In observational study, we examined longitudinal neuroimaging data from TRIAD ADNI cohorts Canada USA,...
Anxiety is common among postpartum women and can have adverse effects on mother's child's somatic psychological health if left untreated. In the UK, nurses or midwifes with a specialisation in community public nursing, also called visitors (HVs), work families who children younger than 5 years of age are therefore key position to identify support mental issues. Until recently, provided by HVs mainly focused identifying managing depression, but updated clinical guidance National Institute for...
Abstract Introduction This culturally tailored enrollment effort aims to determine the feasibility of enrolling 5000 older Latino adults from California into Brain Health Registries (BHR) over 2.25 years. Methods paper describes (1) development and deployment BHR websites digital ads, in collaboration with a community science partnership board marketing company; (2) an interim analysis efforts numbers, participant characteristics (primary aim); as well (3) exploration module completion...
Abstract Alzheimer’s disease typically progresses in stages, which have been defined by the presence of disease-specific biomarkers: amyloid (A), tau (T) and neurodegeneration (N). This progression biomarkers has condensed into ATN framework, each can be either positive (+) or negative (−). Over past decades, genome-wide association studies implicated ∼90 different loci involved with development late-onset disease. Here, we investigate whether genetic risk for contributes equally to stages...
Abstract Introduction Assessment of functional status is associated with risk cognitive decline and diagnosis dementia, can be assessed by participants study partners (SPs). Methods In 770 older adults enrolled in the Imaging Dementia‐Evidence for Amyloid Scanning (IDEAS) online Brain Health Registry (BHR), we estimated associations between assessments clinical variables related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk. Results Worse learning scores SP‐reported were higher probability AD dementia...
Importance The lack of an in vivo measure for α-synuclein (α-syn) pathology until recently has limited thorough characterization its brain atrophy pattern, especially during early disease stages. Objective To assess the association state-of-the-art cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) seed amplification assays (SAA) α-syn positivity (SAA α-syn+) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) structural measures, across continuum from clinically unimpaired (CU) to cognitively impaired (CI) individuals, 3...