The role of glia and the cerebral vasculature in dementia

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias involve a loss of nerve cells and the connections between them (synapses), in the brain. Early in the disease process, the blood supply which provides energy to nerve cells is greatly reduced, and supporting cells (called glial cells), which help the nerve cells to process and transmit information, change their function.

We will examine how brain blood flow is deleteriously reduced early in AD, whether this can be reversed and how the brain’s glial cells protectively remove a molecule (amyloid beta) that triggers dementia, but also remove synapses and evoking cognitive decline. We will also examine how rapid long-distance transmission of signals in the brain is affected in AD.

By examining the important but less-studied blood vessels and glial cells in the brain, we hope to better understand brain function and dementia and to devise new therapeutic targets for treating dementia.