Publication year
2012Source
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 31, 4, (2012), pp. 813-826ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

Display more detailsDisplay less details
Organization
Anatomy
Cognitive Neuroscience
Journal title
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease
Volume
vol. 31
Issue
iss. 4
Page start
p. 813
Page end
p. 826
Subject
DCN MP - Plasticity and memory; DCN NN - Brain networks and neuronal communication; DCN PAC - Perception action and controlAbstract
Research into the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) provides increasing evidence that vascular risk factors, including high serum cholesterol, might influence the progression of cognitive impairment and neural degeneration. In this study, we investigated the effects of high dietary cholesterol intake and the cholesterol-lowering liver X receptor-agonist T0901317 on capillary density, amyloid-beta deposition, and presynaptic boutons in the hippocampus of adult (8 months) and aged (15 months) AbetaPPswe-PS1dE9 and wild-type mice to elucidate how cholesterol may affect neurodegenerative processes in aging and AD. Our results show increased number of presynaptic boutons in 15-month-old AbetaPP-PS1 mice compared to age-matched wild-type animals, but no difference at 8 months of age. High cholesterol intake accelerated this response by increasing the amount of presynaptic boutons at 8 and 15 months of age, while T0901317 intake decreased the amount of presynaptic boutons in 15-month-old AbetaPP-PS1 mice. These findings suggest a synaptic compensatory response to maintain connectivity during aging. We hypothesize that high cholesterol intake may cause impaired cerebral blood flow inducing ischemia, fortifying the above mentioned hypothesis of a compensatory mechanism. Contrarily, cholesterol-lowering agents may positively influence cerebral circulation, thereby diminishing aggravation of AD-like pathology.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [202652]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [79967]
Upload full text
Use your RU credentials (u/z-number and password) to log in with SURFconext to upload a file for processing by the repository team.