Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia and one of the leading sources of morbidity and mortality in the aging population. The brain AD pathology is characterized the accumulation of extracellular amyloid-beta peptides, derived from the cleavage of amyloid precursor protein, intracellular deposits of hyper-phosphorylated tau, neurodegeneration, and glial activation. However neuronal and glial modifications occur in the brain long before cognitive deficits, and clinical trials failed, maybe also because of the lack of an early diagnosis. The actual challenge is to define new biomarkers and non-invasive technologies to measure neuropathological changes in vivo at pre-symptomatic stages. Recent evidences on human samples and mouse models indicate the possibility to detect protein aggregates and other hallmarks in the retina, paving the road for non-invasive rapid detection of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers. Here we demonstrate the presence of known and new retinal biomarkers in human retina of Alzheimer’s disease patients. We found the presence of amyloid beta plaques, tau tangles, neurodegeneration and astrogliosis in the retinal ganglion cell layer. Moreover, retinal microglia showed a disease associated microglial phenotype. We hypothesize retina as a window through which monitor Alzheimer’s disease -related neurodegeneration process.
17 maggio
The seminar will be held by Prof. Prof.ssa Silvia Di Angeloantonio Dipartimento di Fisiologia e Farmacologia "V. Erspamer"
Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, in room C (building CU010) at 12:00.