Alzheimer’s Disease

Savidra Lucatero, Vinita Mehrotra, Sabrina Rawlings, Jackie Wheeler,

& Matt Zustiak

Outline• Introduction• Background• Match ’Em Up Game!

– Discussion

• Current Diagnosis• Current Treatment• Research

– Hands-On Activity

• Questions

Preclinical/Mild AD

Notice size of hippocampus

Moderate AD

Notice the hippocampus

Severe AD

Notice hippocampus and degradation as a whole

Preclinical/Mild AD

Notice size of hippocampus

Production of Beta-amyloid

APP binds to brain cell

Production of Beta-amyloid

Enzymes cut APP molecule and release Beta-amyloid

Production of Beta-amyloid

Beta-amyloid conglumerates

What Are Neuritic Plaques?

• Extracellular abnormalities involving the accumulation of beta/A4-amyloid.

• Beta/A4-amyloid derives from amyloid precursor protein (APP).

• Abnormal degradation of this protein produces peptide fragments which aggregate into insoluble beta/A4-amyloid.

What Are Neuritic Plaques?

• Spherical in structure measuring about 0.2 millimeters in diameter

What Are Neuritic Plaques?

• Often found adjacent to capillaries and large blood vessels.

• Generally found on the surface of cerebral cortex.

• Can be found in other regions of the brain. (i.e. hypothalamus, cerebeller cortex, pons, etc.)

What Do They Look Like?

Different Stages of Neuritic Plaques

• Primitive Plaques

• Diffuse Plaques

• Hypermature Plaques

Different Stages of Neuritic Plaques

Primitive Plaques Diffuse Plaques

Hypermature Plaques

What Do They Look Like?

Production of Tangles

Normal microtubules have stabilizing tau molecules. Diseased microtubules degrade and release the tau molecules which form tangles.

What Are Neurofibrillary Tangles?

• Twisted nerve cell fibers made up of damaged remains of microtubules.

• Tau proteins promote microtubule stability.

• Tau proteins become hyperphosphorylated.

• Abnormal tau protein binding causes microtubule breakdown and the tau protein clump to form neurofibrillary tangles.

What Do They Look Like?

What Do They Look Like?

Preclinical/Mild AD Brain

Blue indicates beta-amyloid

Moderate AD Brain

Blue indicates beta-amyloid

Severe AD Brain

Blue indicates beta-amyloid

Focus On The Use Of Vaccines

Research On Alzheimer Treatment

The Antibody Molecule

How Antibodies Work

-Amyloid Plaques In The Brain

Hypoccampus

Mice was not injected with antibody

Mice injected with antibody

amyloid amyloid plaques plaques are seenare seen

amyloid amyloid plaques plaques are not are not seenseen

Cortex

Mice was not injected with antibody

Mice injected with antibody

Antibody Production

Pharmacokinetics

Thanks for having us!

We look forward to seeing your faces around the UMBC campus.