Eleanor Johnston

• BSc (Hons) Pharmacology
• Assessment of the pathological hallmarks of neurodegenerative age-related diseases. Comparison of quantification methodolgies

As life expectancy increases, age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia are becoming more common within the population. These conditions are debilitating and have a devastating impact on patients and their families. Currently, there is no cure. In order to overcome dementia, a better understanding of the underlying disease processes is needed.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is an essential protective mechanism that restricts the entry of harmful substances in the blood into brain tissue. Previous studies have linked increased leakiness of the blood-brain barrier to age-related disease.

This project aims to assess the amount of BBB leakage in both brains affected by Alzheimer's disease and age-matched control brains. This was done by chemically labelling a protein in the blood (called fibrinogen) and using microscope imaging to determine the amount of this protein in the brain, followed by a statistical analysis of the data.

 Funding source: Newcastle University

 Supervisor: Prof Johannes Attems