Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Alzheimer’S And Patient Caregiver Burnout: A Comprehensive Review Of The Literature, Madeline J. Hekeler

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

The term ‘silent epidemic’ has become fitting for Alzheimer’s disease, as it is now the sixth leading cause of death in the US. Caring for AD patients at home in the US costs billions of dollars each year. The current comprehensive literature review discusses the background/history of AD, pathology and modes of transmission of AD, behavioral and natural risk factors, prevention and treatment options, and how the aforementioned factors contribute to caregiver burnout and subsequently affect the AD patient. The extensive examination of the literature determined several gaps to be addressed. More specifically, burnout among AD caregivers has become an …

Investigating Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates Of Cognitive Impairment In Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus And Alzheimer's Disease, Omar Hasan, Omar Hasan

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Modest expansion of the human brain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled ventricles is normal with aging, and because of this, it can be difficult for physicians to accurately diagnose and treat enlarged ventricles (ventriculomegaly), called hydrocephalus¹ (fluid or water in the brain) Ventriculomegaly occurs due to an obstruction (such as a blood clot or tumor), or a change in CSF absorption². Primary hydrocephalus, also called idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), is non-obstructive and may be comorbid with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Clinically, it can be difficult to tell whether the pathophysiological …

Relationship Between Global Cognition And Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Alexia Sebghati

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is currently affecting the lives of 5.8 million Americans and is expected to double within the next 30 years. With an aging populace of baby boomers, this will place great economic strain on the U.S. creating a burden of almost $1 trillion in healthcare costs. Currently, there is no cure for AD. However, studies report that many individuals with AD experience changes in the brain up to 10-15 years before the disease’s onset. It is imperative to detect future risk of developing AD or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) before significant cognitive changes arise. Many of the risk …

Association Study: Apoe Alleles Association With Neurodegenerative Disorders In The Hispanic Population, Kimberly Moreno

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of phenotypic variables and Apolipoprotein E (APOE) alleles and its effect on cognitive statues. APOE is a gene found vastly in the Hispanic community, speculated to be linked to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Compared demographic, clinical, and genetic features among Hispanics who were diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and psychiatric disorders (e.g., anxiety and depression) in the efforts to assess the role of APOE. In past research, APOE has been considered a pathological hallmark for neurological diseases.

Past research has …

Early Diagnosis Of Alzheimer’S Disease In The Primary Care Setting, Raymond R. Romano

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The burden of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects not just the individual but also families, providers, and society. Early recognition and diagnosis of AD may reduce cost by reducing interaction with the health care system, earlier initiation of treatment, and prolonging time to long- term care. Primary care providers, the first contact for diagnosis of patients with AD, are not fulfilling the potential of early diagnosis for a variety of reasons. Biomarkers of AD emerge on average 15 to 20 years before clinical diagnosis, yet currently established biomarkers are not easily available in the primary care setting. A growing body of …

Comparison Of Longitudinal Changes In Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Between Alzheimer’S And Healthy Controls, Berk Can Yilmaz

Theses

Resting State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI) is a technique that is widely used for analyzing brain function using different approaches and methods. This study involves rs-fMRI analysis of Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signals acquired from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) Patients and Healthy Controls (HC). Each subject in the study had both functional and anatomical images with at least one rs-fMRI scan with their Anatomical (T1) scans. Previous rs-fMRI studies have demonstrated that AD shows differences in Amplitude of Low Frequency (<0.1 Hz) Fluctuations (ALFF), and Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) measures according to HCs.

The aim of the study is to investigate individual and group level differences using ReHo and mALFF related …

Bilingualism/Multilingualism To Protect Against Cognitive Decline In Alzheimer’S Disease And Other Forms Of Dementia: A Systematic Review, Kirsten L. May

Honors Thesis

Given a growing incidence of Alzheimer’s disease and lack of treatments, prevention is a popular topic in both research literature (Angevaren et al., 2008; Orrell & Sahakian, 1995) and in news articles (Iacono et al., 2009). A cognitive reserve is a skill that improves cognitive functioning in executive controls. Bilingualism is believed to be a practice that increases cognitive reserve, which could delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

The purpose of this project was to analyze the possibility that bilingualism or multilingualism could create a cognitive reserve to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia-related diseases. This systematic …

Light Dependent Endolysosomal Defects In A Photoreceptor Model Of Alzheimer's Disease, Michelle S. Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease which is the 6^th leading cause of death in the US. AD pathology is thought to be linked to the accumulation and aggregation of toxic proteins, amyloid-beta and tau. AD development and neurodegeneration is proposed to be caused by the toxic effects of these protein accumulations, specifically amyloid-beta, as postulated by the amyloid-cascade hypothesis. To study the relationship between amyloid-beta and overall neuronal health, a study was carried out using an amyloid-expressing fruit fly photoreceptor model. Using this model, toxicity of amyloid in a stressed lysosomal system induced by light, an established …

Cerebral Lactate Metabolism And Memory: Implications For Alzheimer's Disease, Richard Andrew Harris

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by amyloid plaques that are comprised of aggregated amyloid-beta peptides. These toxic proteins promote mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal cell death. A shift in metabolism away from oxidative phosphorylation and toward aerobic glycolysis, with the concomitant production of lactate, affords neurons a survival advantage against amyloid-beta toxicity. Recent evidence now suggests that aerobic glycolysis in the brain plays a critical role in supporting synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. However, the role of aerobic glycolysis and lactate metabolism in AD-mediated cognitive decline is unknown. My objective was to test the hypotheses that aerobic glycolysis …

Behavioural Inflexibility And White Matter Inflammation In An Aged Happ Rat With Subcortical Stroke, Aaron M. Regis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The interactions between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and ischemic stroke pathology are of key interest in the development of post-stroke cognitive decline. While clinical and experimental studies have suggested an interaction, the mechanisms whereby these conditions interact to worsen cognition haven’t been fully revealed. This study aimed to combine rodent models of AD and stroke in an aged rat and assess the behavioural and histological outcomes. An injection of endothelin-1 (ET-1), a potent vasoconstrictor into the basal ganglia of a rat with human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) overexpression (F344Tg) was followed up 3 months later to assess behavioural flexibility, memory and …

The Therapeutic Role Of Turmeric In Treatment And Prevention Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Rylan M. Mcquade

Selected Honors Theses

As a devastating neurological condition that expends millions of lives each year, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a subject of intense investigation.¹ Although AD has been known for over a century, the precise mechanisms that underlie AD pathogenesis and development are still poorly understood. The Alzheimer phenotype is typified by extracellular amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), causing researchers to notice several key enzymes implicated in this process.¹ Most notable are β and γ secretases (which drive Aβ plaque production) and phospholipase

A₂ (which stimulates major cascade activation through the specific cleavage of fatty acyl esters). …

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 …

An Investigation Into The Combined Effects Of Β-Amyloid Toxicity And Cerebral Ischemia On The Pathological Expression Of Gangliosides., Jeffrey D. Hepburn

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Identifying mechanisms underlying the synergistic pathological interaction between stroke and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can effectively guide future therapeutic strategies for these highly co-morbid conditions. Aberrant ganglioside expression marked by the pathological accumulation of ganglioside GM3 is common to stroke and AD, yet it is unclear whether GM3 is synergistically enhanced in a comorbid model, or if GM3 is a viable therapeutic target. Adult male Wistar rats received a unilateral ischemic striatal infarct via endothelin-1 (ET-1) injection alone or in combination with bilateral intracerebroventricular injection of the β-Amyloid 25-35 peptide (Aβ) to induce generalized Aβ toxicity (Aβ/ET-1). Animals were sacrificed after …