The relationship of cerebral and cognitive reserves in the connectivity of neurofunctional networks in Alzheimer's Disease patients, considering the APOE 4 allele and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers

• Grant number: 15/06163-4
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2015
• Effective date (End): October 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal researcher: Gabriela Castellano
• Grantee: Marina Weiler
• Home Institution: Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin (IFGW). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07559-3 - BRAINN - The Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Due to the increasing number of the elderly population in the last century, it has been more and more important to find ways of aging in a healthy manner. Within this context, late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) easily comes to mind, a neurodegenerative illness that affects neurofunctional networks and has as main genetic factor in the ApoE µ4 allele. The study of factors that somehow delay or even prevent the onset of this disease has become essential. Thus, the concepts of cerebral and cognitive reserve have emerged, which reflect the tolerance of one against an alteration - in this case, against the intrinsic physiopathological effects of Alzheimer's disease. Cerebral reserve refers to the amount of alteration the brain can tolerate before expressing the clinical symptoms; whereas cognitive reserve takes into account the way the brain recruits alternative strategies to perform cognitive tasks. The higher the cerebral and/or cognitive reserve, the higher the tolerance against the onset of the disease. It has been established in the literature that the connectivity of neural networks reflects brain plasticity, even among adults, and that the presence of ApoE µ4 allele is harmful even in the healthy elderly. With this in mind, we aim to evaluate how cerebral and cognitive reserves affect the connectivity of networks in the healthy elderly, amnestic mild cognitive impairment subjects and AD patients, with and without the ApoE µ4 allele. This research will be carried out under the BRAINN (Brazilian Institute of Neuroscience and Neurotechnology) project, in the Neurophysics Group of Institute of Physics Gleb Wataghin of UNICAMP, with collaboration of researchers from the Neurology Department of the Medical Sciences School of this university. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

WEILER, MARINA; CASSEB, RAPHAEL FERNANDES; DE CAMPOS, BRUNNO MACHADO; DE LIGO TEIXEIRA, CAMILA VIEIRA; MAC KNIGHT CARLETTI-CASSANI, ANA FLAVIA; VICENTINI, JESSICA ELIAS; CARDOSO MAGALHAES, THAMIRES NAELA; DE ALMEIRA, DEBORA QUEIROZ; TALIB, LEDA LEME; FORLENZA, ORESTES VICENTE; FIGUEREDO BALTHAZAR, MARCIO LUIZ; CASTELLANO, GABRIELA. Cognitive Reserve Relates to Functional Network Efficiency in Alzheimer's Disease. FRONTIERS IN AGING NEUROSCIENCE, v. 10, AUG 21 2018. Web of Science Citations: 2.

VICENTINI, JESSICA ELIAS; WEILER, MARINA; MEIRA ALMEIDA, SARA REGINA; DE CAMPOS, BRUNNO MACHADO; VALLER, LENISE; LI, LI MIN. Depression and anxiety symptoms are associated to disruption of default mode network in subacute ischemic stroke. BRAIN IMAGING AND BEHAVIOR, v. 11, n. 6, p. 1571-1580, DEC 2017. Web of Science Citations: 11.