Jennifer Taylor

• Bsc (Hons) Biomedical Genetics
• Pathological Assessment of Clusterin in Vascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Brain

Genetic variation in the clusterin gene has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, rapid clinical progression and disease severity correlates with high levels of plasma clusterin. Clusterin has also been linked to pathological changes in CADASIL, the most common type of hereditary small vessel disease. To investigate clusterin protein expression in post mortem brain tissue, staining patterns were assessed in white matter, grey matter and vessel walls for seven different dementing diseases (vascular and neurodegenerative) and three aged matched cognitively normal control groups. Clusterin staining was found to be higher in vascular dementias and associated with white matter pathology.

 Funding source: Newcastle University