UC San Diego Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA)
The Vietnam Era Twin Study of Aging (VETSA) is a set of longitudinal projects that examine genetic and environmental influences on cognitive and brain aging starting in midlife. The projects have two main goals. Because everyone does not age in the same way, one goal is to understand the factors accounting for the great heterogeneity of cognitive and brain trajectories. A second goal is to advance the early identification of risk factors for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Because the pathological processes underlying dementia can begin decades before onset, early identification is one key to developing effective interventions.