Brain Entry and Exit Consortium: Identifying the Blood-Brain Barrier Changes During Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating chronic neurodegenerative disease that is the leading cause of dementia and involves memory loss, disorientation, language issues, mood swings and many other behavioral abnormalities. Recently, it has been suggested that dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) may be an important component of the pathogenesis of AD; however, very little is known about how the BBB may change in patients with AD. In this proposal, we aim to determine the molecular changes to the BBB in patients with AD, and then, using mouse models, determine how these changes affect the function of the BBB and the progression of AD models. In particular, we have identified that there may be changes to the vascular lipid metabolism in patients with AD. Therefore, we aim to determine how altered vascular lipid metabolism affects BBB function, the buildup of amyloid, the function of other brain entry and exit routes, and the progression of AD models. Overall, we aim to determine whether targeting vascular lipid metabolism may prove therapeutic for patients with AD.