The Role of Infections Agents in Precipitating the Neurodegenerative Changes That Lead to Development of Alzheimer's Disease – (Ph.D.)

Alzheimer´s Disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. The greatest risk factor is age and therefore the number of sufferers is increasing with the increase in the ageing population; the risk of developing the disease reaches almost 50% at age 85 and over.

Currently, our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease is poor and consequently the efficacy of currently-available treatments is poor. Genetic and environmental factors probably contribute to the disease but, at present, the evidence is unconvincing. In contrast, emerging evidence suggests that exposure to infection triggers inflammatory changes in the brain, precipitating neurodegenerative changes and accelerating the development of AD.

This project will exploit expertise in Immunology and Neuroscience and will examine the novel hypothesis that infection-induced inflammatory T cells contributes to progression of AD, whereas another population of T cells, regulatory T cells whose function is to suppress immune responses, may slow disease progression.