Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Plasma Insulin-Degrading Enzyme: Characterisation And Evaluation As A Potential Biomarker For Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle Tegg

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is increasing in prevalence due to increasing lifespan and altered lifestyle. It is the fourth major cause of death in Western countries, resulting in significant economic and social impact (Von Strauss, et al., 1999; Goate, 1997). There are no blood biomarkers currently accepted for the diagnosis of AD, and the identification of suitable biomarkers would eventually reduce the necessity for invasive, expensive and slow diagnostic procedures, as well as facilitate prognostic studies. An AD blood test would decrease the need for delaying diagnosis due to ambivalent presentation, and allow therapeutic intervention to commence at an earlier …

Impact Of Nutrition On Cognition And Its Association With Blood And Brain Alzheimer Disease Related Biomarkers, Samantha Gardener

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of senile dementia, currently affects over 35 million people worldwide. While there is no cure or effective treatment, early intervention programs hold considerable promise. Following particular dietary patterns represents one potential intervention strategy accessible to all.

Results from previous studies investigating the association of diet, cognition and biomarkers of AD are inconsistent: Positive results have been reported (1-7), whilst others have shown no associations. Prior to this thesis, no study has assessed the relationship of four dietary patterns to cognition, blood-based and neuroimaging biomarkers of AD in a large highly-characterised ageing cohort. Participants …

Digital Morphometry : A Taxonomy Of Morphological Filters And Feature Parameters With Application To Alzheimer's Disease Research, Andrew Mehnert

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this thesis the expression digital morphometry collectively describes all those procedures used to obtain quantitative measurements of objects within a two-dimensional digital image. Quantitative measurement is a two-step process: the application of geometrical transformations to extract the features of interest, and then the actual measurement of these features. With regard to the first step the morphological filters of mathematical morphology provide a wealth of suitable geometric transfomations. Traditional radiometric and spatial enhancement techniques provide an additional source of transformations. The second step is more classical (e.g. Underwood, 1970; Bookstein, 1978; and Weibull, 1980); yet here again mathematical morphology is …