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Investigating The Rho-Kinase (Rock) Signaling Pathway As A Therapeutic Target In Alzheimer’S Disease, Benjamin Wade Henderson

All ETDs from UAB

Current estimates project that there are approximately 5.4 million Americans affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). While this number is expected to dramatically increase in the years to come, there is currently no disease modifying therapeutic to prevent or slow AD progression. Cognitive decline is a clinical hallmark of AD, while accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) is a pathological hallmark. Work in the field has demonstrated that mitigating Aβ levels may serve as a rational therapeutic avenue to slow progression of the disease. Pharmacologic inhibition of the Rho-associated protein kinases (ROCK1 and ROCK2) is proposed to curb Aβ levels, and mechanisms that …