Research Focus 3

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the United States. Risk factors for AD are associated with age and gender. Women are more likely to develop a rapid progression of dementia than men with a greater risk of developing vascular dementia as compared to males. We previously discovered that mRNA and protein expression of fatty acid synthase in brain regions were significantly decreased with the aged AD mice. The goal of this project is to explore the pathophysiological role of fatty acid synthase in the aged brain of AD. We hypothesize that fatty acid synthase is critical for age-related brain function to maintain cerebral blood flow and the mitochondria, and prevent neuroinflammation and learn/memory degradation. The present study can lead to novel therapies/targets against AD.