HNSE-P5-3. Examining the Effects of a Blood Glucose Rescue on Learning and Memory Consistent with Alzheimer’s Disease, in Aged Hyperglycemic Mice

Jevons Wang1
Andrew Ortiz2
Karen Alcazar3
Faculty Mentor: Jefferson W. Kinney, Ph.D.4
1College of Sciences, School of Life Sciences
2College of Liberal Arts, Department of Psychology
3College of Sciences, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
4 School of Integrated Health Sciences, Department of Brain Health

ABSTRACT
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that results in tissue damage and cognitive impairment. There are three pathological hallmarks seen in AD: 1) senile plaques, composed of the accumulation of A-beta protein, 2) neurofibrillary tangles, composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, and 3) a sustained immune response in the brain (neuroinflammation). A major non-genetic risk factor for AD is type 2 diabetes (T2DM). T2DM confers up to a 1.5 to 4 times more likelihood of developing AD; additionally, 80% of individuals who have AD, have T2DM or glucose intolerance. T2DM Initiates chronic neuroinflammation that leads to an exacerbation in AD pathology. The interrelationship between T2DM and the AD hallmarks are not yet fully understood. The focus of this study was to investigate if the AD deficits seen from T2DM are caused by hyperglycemia or neuroinflammation. We examined both tissue and behavioral data; however, for this project we focused on measuring learning and memory by utilizing the Barnes Maze. The preliminary data from the Barnes Maze video analysis indicated that there were no significant differences in “total latency” between any of the groups. Although there were no significant learning deficits with the STZ drug, preliminary data did show that the PZ group had significantly less “total error”.

This research was funded by UNLV’s Title III Part F Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) program, which is housed within UNLV’s Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach and funded under grant (P382B160008) from the U.S. Department of Education.

Tags:

Date

Nov 15 - 19 2021
Expired!

Time

All Day

Labels

HNSE: Poster Session 6
Category
The Office of Undergraduate Research

Organizer

The Office of Undergraduate Research
Phone
702-895-4771
Email
our@unlv.edu
Website
http://unlv.edu/our

Speakers

2 Replies to “HNSE-P5-3. Examining the Effects of a Blood Glucose Rescue on Learning and Memory Consistent with Alzheimer’s Disease, in Aged Hyperglycemic Mice”

  1. Interesting study! I wasn’t aware that there was a such a high correlation between Alzheimer’s and sugar intolerance/Type 2 diabetes. I find this research to be really eye-opening and compelling for the future of Alzheimer’s prevention.

    Reply

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