Grant: Project Grant

Stroke is a top 3 cause of death and the leading cause of disability in the developed world. Clinical treatments are quite effective at stopping strokes by using clot busting drugs or surgery to reopen blocked blood vessels. Despite these important advances, our understanding of how cell death mechanisms are intrinsically controlled is poor. This is surprising considering the overlap of the pathways for cell death and those for making memories. This proposal will address the cellular mechanisms of how one of the causative proteins in Alzheimer's disease modifies neuronal responses to stroke. We are particularly interested in how amyloid beta reduces loss of electrical activity in neurons, which is an important factor in neuronal death. Once complete, we will understand how stroke and amyloid interact and have a new foundation to investigate if stroke induces long-term changes in amyloid.