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Cognitive Impairment Following Pre-eclampsia: Of Mice and Women

Principal Investigator:
Dr. Louise Pilote, McGill University

Co-Investigators:
Natalie Dayan, McGill University Health Centre
Amanda Rossi, McGill University Health Centre
Edith Hamel, McGill University 

Collaborator:
Marilyn Cipolla, University of Vermont

We will use existing databases from a large cohort study, Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA), to determine the impact of pre-eclampsia on cognitive function in women. These data will be acquired through the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Biologic Specimen and Data Repository  Information Coordinating Center (BioLINCC). In leveraging this database, we can begin to explore the relationship between vascular complications in pregnancy and how these may impact cognitive function  later in  life which can  eventually lead  to  more focused intervention studies in women. In collaboration with Dr. Hamel, and with expertise from Dr. Cipolla (University of Vermont), an animal study will be simultaneously undertaken to test whether a history of pre-eclampsia in female mice is associated with cognitive decline post-partum, in middle and in old age, and exploration of possible cerebrovascular and white matter disease biomarkers will be initiated.