Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder and the predominant cause of dementia. The main pathological hallmarks of the disease in the brain are the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrilliary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated forms of tau (P-tau).
Applications are invited to undertake a PhD/Higher Degree by Research (HDR) to investigate how concussive impacts can lead to later neurodegenerative disease.
In neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), synaptic communication within brain networks are impaired leading to significant memory deficits and dementia.
The neuronal cells of patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases are characteristic by possession of aggregates of several proteins such as tau and Abeta protein.
Several neurodegenerative diseases are asociated with the formation of fibrous (fibrillar) protein agreggates. The fibrillization of amyloid beta peptide into amyloid plaques and the agregation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein into neurofibrillar tangles are main neuropatological signs of Alzheimer disease.
This project is part of our exciting and challenging University of Dundee 4-year MRC DTP Programme in Quantitative and Interdisciplinary approaches to biomedical science.
Amyloid fibrils are highly ordered protein aggregates associated with many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Flavanoids, which are polyphenols such as curcumin present in the human diet, have been shown to inhibit fibril formation in tau protein which is abundant in neurons.
