Award Date

May 2024

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Interdisciplinary Programs

First Committee Member

Jefferson Kinney

Second Committee Member

Jeffrey Cummings

Third Committee Member

Samantha John

Fourth Committee Member

James Hyman

Fifth Committee Member

Chad Cross

Number of Pages

111

Abstract

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) currently affects about 6.9 million Americans, with over two-thirds of those individuals being women. Interestingly, changes in the brain indicative of AD coincide with the onset of menopause. Post-menopausal women have significantly higher levels of AD pathologies, including amyloid beta and hyperphosphorylated tau, than pre-menopausal women. To investigate the relationship between AD pathologies and menopause, we induced menopause-like state in an AD mouse model, APP/PS1, by treatment with 4-vinylcyclohexene diepoxide (VCD) to accelerate ovarian follicle depletion. To monitor the transition to menopause, vaginal lavages and cytology was performed to determine if mice reached anestrous. Both female APP/PS1 mice and controls reached anestrous and tissues were evaluated for AD related changes. Female APP/PS1 mice treated with VCD had significantly reduced levels of AB-42 in the hippocampus. Overall, this study demonstrates the utility of using VCD in AD study to investigate the association with menopause. These studies could further research into novel biomarkers and therapeutics for women with AD.

Keywords

Alzheimer’s Disease; menopause

Disciplines

Medical Neurobiology | Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Neurosciences

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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