BENGALURU: Nimhans and the University of Southern California (USC) have jointly launched an initiative, India Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA), with an aim to undertake research on global ageing and study various factors which accelerate brain ageing.
The five-year project has been approved by the Ministry of Health and the Nimhans Institutional Ethics Committee. It has also been provided with a Rs 21 crore grant by the National Institute of Ageing and
National Institute of Health, USA. The research will be headed by Dr Paul M Thompson, director of Imaging Genetics Centre (IGC), USC. He has brought together researchers from 40 countries studying brain diseases to work on this project.
The initiative aims at studying the contributing factors to brain ageing in the Indian population that can lead to an increased risk for Alzheimer’s, dementia and other disorders.
Dr John P, a psychiatry professor and principal investigator of this study at Nimhans said major breakthroughs have occurred in the industry due to the generosity of volunteers. He said he hopes that this study will generate critical insights for planning preventive treatment strategies for dementia in the Indian population. The study will be conducted at Nimhans and will involve 400 participants including healthy people and ones with memory impairment.