David Snowdon
Encyclopedia
David A. Snowdon is an epidemiologist and professor of neurology
at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky
. His research interests include antioxidant
s and aging, and the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease
, especially predictive factors in early life and the role of brain infarction
.
He is the director of the Nun Study
, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease which is following 678 members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
aged over 75 years.
Based on the NIH database of grants (CRISP), the study of aging and Alzheimer's disease in the Sisters began in 1991 after he joined the University of Kentucky. Many of the procedures were based on work by Dr. David Wekstein and Dr. William Markesbery. They had, in 1989, started a study of age-associated changes in cognition and function in a group of older adults in Kentucky who had agreed to brain donation at death. Their focus was to understand how changes in the brain could be linked to Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders in advanced age. The Nun Study was a natural extension of the ongoing work at the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. Their work continues with the help of over 1,000 older Kentuckians who volunteer to be part of this research effort.
Snowdon's book on the Nun study, Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives, won a Christopher Award in 2002.
678 members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
in the U.S.
participated in the Nun Study
, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease
initiated in 1986. The homogeneous life style of the nuns makes them an ideal study population. Convent archives have been made available to investigators as a resource on the history of participants. Of the 677 nuns which include Sister Kathleen Treanor, 93 and Sister Antoine Daniel, 96, only 61 surviving nuns recently completed their last rounds of intellectual and physical tests for the Nun Study
. The nuns decided to donate their brain
s to science
. They acknowledged the success to Dr. David Snowdon, epidemiology professor of University of Minnesota
in 1986. In 1992, he administered annual memory and cognitive tests to 678 nuns ranging in age from 75 to 102.
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
. His research interests include antioxidant
Antioxidant
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons or hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions. When...
s and aging, and the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, especially predictive factors in early life and the role of brain infarction
Infarction
In medicine, infarction refers to tissue death that is caused by a local lack of oxygen due to obstruction of the tissue's blood supply. The resulting lesion is referred to as an infarct.-Causes:...
.
He is the director of the Nun Study
Nun Study
The Nun Study of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease is a still-running longitudinal study, begun in 1986, to examine the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. David Snowdon, the founding Nun Study investigator, originally began his research at the University of Minnesota, but moved it to the University of...
, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease which is following 678 members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...
aged over 75 years.
Based on the NIH database of grants (CRISP), the study of aging and Alzheimer's disease in the Sisters began in 1991 after he joined the University of Kentucky. Many of the procedures were based on work by Dr. David Wekstein and Dr. William Markesbery. They had, in 1989, started a study of age-associated changes in cognition and function in a group of older adults in Kentucky who had agreed to brain donation at death. Their focus was to understand how changes in the brain could be linked to Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders in advanced age. The Nun Study was a natural extension of the ongoing work at the Alzheimer's Disease Center at the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. Their work continues with the help of over 1,000 older Kentuckians who volunteer to be part of this research effort.
Snowdon's book on the Nun study, Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives, won a Christopher Award in 2002.
678 members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame
School Sisters of Notre Dame is a worldwide order of Roman Catholic nuns devoted to primary, secondary, and post-secondary education. Their life in mission centers on prayer, community life and ministry...
in the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
participated in the Nun Study
Nun Study
The Nun Study of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease is a still-running longitudinal study, begun in 1986, to examine the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. David Snowdon, the founding Nun Study investigator, originally began his research at the University of Minnesota, but moved it to the University of...
, a longitudinal study of aging and Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
initiated in 1986. The homogeneous life style of the nuns makes them an ideal study population. Convent archives have been made available to investigators as a resource on the history of participants. Of the 677 nuns which include Sister Kathleen Treanor, 93 and Sister Antoine Daniel, 96, only 61 surviving nuns recently completed their last rounds of intellectual and physical tests for the Nun Study
Nun Study
The Nun Study of Aging and Alzheimer's Disease is a still-running longitudinal study, begun in 1986, to examine the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. David Snowdon, the founding Nun Study investigator, originally began his research at the University of Minnesota, but moved it to the University of...
. The nuns decided to donate their brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
s to science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. They acknowledged the success to Dr. David Snowdon, epidemiology professor of University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
in 1986. In 1992, he administered annual memory and cognitive tests to 678 nuns ranging in age from 75 to 102.
Selected publications
- Aging with Grace: What the Nun Study Teaches Us About Leading Longer, Healthier, and More Meaningful Lives. New York : Bantam Books, 2001. ISBN 0-553-80163-5
- Snowdon DA, Nun Study (2003) Healthy aging and dementia: findings from the Nun Study. Ann Intern Med 139: 450-4
- Riley KP, Snowdon DA, Markesbery WR (2002) Alzheimer's neurofibrillary pathology and the spectrum of cognitive function: findings from the Nun Study. Ann Neurol 51: 567-77
- Gosche KM, Mortimer JA, Smith CD, Markesbery WR, Snowdon DA (2002) Hippocampal volume as an index of Alzheimer neuropathology: findings from the Nun Study. Neurology 58: 1476-82
- Snowdon DA, Greiner LH, Mortimer JA, et al. (1997) Brain infarction and the clinical expression of Alzheimer disease. The Nun Study. JAMA 277: 813-7
- Snowdon DA, Kemper SJ, Mortimer JA, et al. (1996) Linguistic ability in early life and cognitive function and Alzheimer’s disease in late life: Findings from the Nun Study. JAMA 275: 528-32
External links
- David A. Snowdon at the University of KentuckyUniversity of KentuckyThe University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...