91茄子 Researchers in Search of Alzheimer檚 Causes, Cure
November 26, 2019
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
Katie Barlis '20 studies the structures of the brain concerned with learning and memory in Professor Julio Ramirez's neuroscience lab.
Performing brain surgery on rodents isn檛 for the squeamish, but Katie Barlis and Gaby Soden want answers.
Their aim is to find differences in how rats brains recover after an injury to the region that controls memory. The ultimate goal: To see if intervention could offer potential cures for Alzheimer檚 disease.
November is Alzheimer檚 Awareness month, a time to bring attention to the disease that afflicts 5.8 million Americans and is the country檚 sixth leading cause of death. It檚 also a time when families get together for the holidays. In some cases, that may include difficult conversations about an elderly relative who檚 exhibiting symptoms.
At 91茄子, student researchers like Barlis 20 and Soden 20 are seeking clues to what makes women more likely to get the disease, and what can be done to prevent, stop or reverse memory loss.
Though these questions are not new, R. Stuart Dickson Professor of Psychology Julio Ramirez believes they檙e on to something.
Hannah Doyle 19, Barlis and Soden recently presented their research at the annual Society for Neuroscience conference in Chicago. About 28,000 researchers from around the world attended.
Ramirez has studied Alzheimer檚 disease for decades. He says there檚 been very little published about the female rat brain檚 capacity to recover after memory loss resulting from injury to the entorhinal cortex攖he area that degenerates in Alzheimer檚 disease.
The 91茄子 team aims to change that. Like many scientists, they experiment with rats, which have litters that are genetically nearly identical and have relatively short life cycles.
Their research suggests female rat brains undergo changes in brain connections, or neuroplasticity, like male rat brains. In some cases though, the females may show even more neuroplasticity.
The researchers suspect the link is related to hormones. Female rats with elevated estrogen levels had more successful brain recovery after an injury than males and females that weren檛 producing estrogen.
That could be one reason why post-menopausal women are more susceptible to the disease than men.
淚n previous work, my 91茄子 students and I discovered that if we promote the growth of new pathways in a structure that contributes to memory after a cortical injury, we can restore memory function, Ramirez said. He calls it a promising piece of the vast research into the disease.
淲e still have a long way to go, and research usually has more failures than successes, but I檓 very hopeful there will be a cure someday, Ramirez said. 淭here have recently been some exciting discoveries in Alzheimer檚 research.
Prevention, Signs and Hope
There檚 still so much that檚 unknown about Alzheimer檚 causes and cures. The biggest suspect is age. We檙e living much longer than our ancestors, and Alzheimer檚 is normally a disease of the elderly.
A buildup of plaque and tangles in the brain is common in Alzheimer檚 patients, and researchers are trying to determine their role in the disease.
Genetics also come into play. Carriers of a form of the gene APOE4 appear more likely to develop Alzheimer檚 than non-carriers.
Can you prevent Alzheimer檚?
Again, there檚 no sure answer but Ramirez says the advice he offers people is, 渨hat檚 good for the heart is good for your head.
Regular physical exercise appears to help people maintain mental sharpness. Healthy eating and controlling blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes is important. Socializing and intellectual stimulation can also play a protective role, he said.
And that檚 why it檚 important to check in with older friends and relatives.
Some signs of aging are normal, such as misplacing your reading glasses or car keys; forgetting what you do with the glasses or car keys is not.
Repeatedly asking the same questions, forgetting where you are or how you got there, withdrawing from social activity and changes in grooming habits are other warning signs, according to the Alzheimer檚 Association.
Soden said her grandfather developed dementia, which is often related to Alzheimer檚, before his death. She knows the devastation that families feel.
淚 think there檚 nothing worse than losing your mind, she said. 淵ou no longer recognize the people you love. My grandfather thought his sons were kidnappers holding him hostage. He became angry and completely withdrawn攋ust a completely different person than the one we knew when we were younger.
Barlis, a psychology major from New Jersey, and Soden, a neuroscience major from North Carolina, both plan to continue in research fields after graduation.
Do they ever see themselves finding a cure for Alzheimer檚?
淚t檚 frustrating to think that billions of dollars have gone into research that keeps hitting a wall攖hat can be demoralizing, Soden said. 淏ut I don檛 think that檚 a reason to stop trying. My goal is to further our knowledge.
Barlis smiles at the question.
淣ot by myself, she said. 淚 don檛 think it檚 going to be just one person. But every contribution you make is a step in the right direction. I檓 hopeful that I can contribute something.
