Laura Ekblad
MD, PhD
llekbl@utu.fi ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5863-8088 |
Areas of expertise
positron emission tomography; Alzheimer´s Disease; Insulin resistance; cognition; memory disorders
positron emission tomography; Alzheimer´s Disease; Insulin resistance; cognition; memory disorders
Research community or research topic
Specialist in Geriatrics and Family Medicine. Senior researcher, Turku Alzheimer Imaging Group, Turku PET Centre.
Specialist in Geriatrics and Family Medicine. Senior researcher, Turku Alzheimer Imaging Group, Turku PET Centre.
Research
My research focuses on early risk factors for memory disorders, especially Alzheimer´s disease. I am particularly interested in the associations between metabolic risk factors (insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, obesity) and cognitive decline.
Our lab uses multimodal neuroimaging (PET-imaging, MRI) combined with blood and CSF biomarkers and cognitive testing to explore the association between different risk factors and early cerebral changes of memory disorders.
I also run a project that examines possible cardiac side effects of anti-dementia agents in elderly memory clinic patients.
Teaching
Publications
- Valmistautuminen muistisairauksiin vanhusväestössä - askelmat ja osapuoletBlood biomarkers of neurodegeneration associate differently with amyloid deposition, medial temporal atrophy, and cerebrovascular changes in APOE ε4-enriched cognitively unimpaired elderly (2026)
- DuodecimAlzheimer's Research and Therapy
(A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal ) - APOE4 carriership status influences [11C]PiB white matter retention in cognitively healthy older adults (2025)
- Neurobiology of DiseaseNeurobiology of Disease
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Associations of lifestyle factors with amyloid pathology in persons without dementia (2025)
- Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Depressive Symptoms and Amyloid Pathology (2025)
- JAMA Psychiatry
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Effects of Cholinesterase Inhibitor Medication on QTc Interval in Memory Clinic Patients (2025)
- Annals of Pharmacotherapy
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Enhancing dementia prediction: A 19-year validation of the CAIDE risk score with insulin resistance and APOE ε4 integration in a population-based cohort (2025)
- The Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease as a predictor of cognitive performance: An 11-year population-based follow-up study (2025)
- Digestive and Liver Disease
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease : A study with [11C]PBR28 PET and cerebrospinal fluid markers (2025)
- Parkinsonism and Related Disorders
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - (2024)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal) - Cognitively healthy APOE4/4 carriers show white matter impairment associated with serum NfL and amyloid-PET (2024)
(A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)



