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Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Investigations Of Alzheimer Disease, Jacob Penner

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Alzheimer disease is a progressively devastating neurodegenerative disease of the brain that impairs cognition and is ultimately fatal. Cholinesterase inhibitors are the current standard treatment for Alzheimer disease and they can alleviate some of the symptoms and thus improve quality of life. Cognitive measures aid in the diagnosis and monitoring of individuals with Alzheimer disease, but they do not directly measure disease pathophysiology. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate metabolic changes measured with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy within the hippocampus and posterior cingulate, two brain regions known to be effected in Alzheimer disease, following cholinesterase inhibitor treatment. Such …