Grant: Project Grant

Dementia and its onset is a multifaceted phenomenon but an increasing number of clues point to the human plumbing system, the vasculature, as a key participant in the disease. Identifying how plumbing problems contribute to dementia is crucial since it could open new approaches to cure vascular disease induced dementia such as lifestyle changes and through the use of drugs targeting and approved for vascular diseases. In this project we aim to investigate a novel phenomena observed in the smallest pipes in our body: the capillaries. Recent work has shown that some specific cells in the blood stream can 'plug' brain capillaries leading to less efficient blood flow. Since blood carries oxygen, reducing flow has the potential to damage the brain through oxygen reductions, its main nutrient. In parallel we recently measured oxygen directly in the brain and saw small islands of low oxygen in tissue that could indeed lead to brain damage. The objective of this project is to answer the question: are plugged capillaries and localized zones of oxygen reductions two sides of the same phenomenon?