Sidra Medicine has highlighted new research that could improve the prediction of cognitive decline by combining genetic information with brain imaging data, supporting future approaches to personalised brain health.
Published in Genome Medicine, the study introduces a multi-threshold polygenic risk approach that incorporates information from thousands of genetic variants. The method is designed to capture a broader range of genetic signals linked to disease risk and improve models used to predict cognitive changes.
The research was led by Dr. Mohamed Janahi, Postdoctoral Researcher in the laboratory of Prof. Younes Mokrab, Principal Investigator and Director of the Neuroscience Research Program at Sidra Medicine, in collaboration with Prof. Andre Altmann and researchers at University College London.
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The team developed the models using data from nearly 24,000 UK Biobank participants and evaluated them in approximately 3,000 participants from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative and European Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease cohort.
Prof. Mokrab said: “Common diseases are influenced by thousands of genetic variants, with each one contributing only a small amount to overall risk. Our approach brings more of these genetic signals together. This improves our ability to use brain changes to predict cognitive decline and could have applications beyond neurodegenerative diseases.”
The researchers found that combining multi-threshold genetic risk scores with hippocampal brain imaging improved the identification of patterns associated with cognitive impairment and future decline. The hippocampus plays an important role in memory and can show changes during the early stages of neurodegenerative disease.
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Dr. Janahi said: “Alzheimer’s disease can affect the brain years before symptoms become noticeable. Identifying people at higher risk during these early stages could create important opportunities for earlier monitoring and prevention. Our research improves how we use genetic information to predict cognitive decline and brings us closer to more personalized approaches to brain health.”
The study also highlights potential applications beyond Alzheimer’s disease. The multi-threshold framework could be adapted to other conditions influenced by numerous genetic factors, supporting broader research in precision medicine and computational genomics.
