Vascular function is one of the very first things we see becoming dysfunctional in an Alzheimer’s disease brain, many years before symptoms present. Further, many cardiovascular risk factors are also risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease. We still have a lot to learn about exactly how the two are linked but something we do know that our brains are full of blood vessels. So much so, if we laid them all out they would stretch from Boston to Washington D.C. Why do we need so many? One of the reasons is because the brain requires a LOT of energy- it only constitutes ~ 2% of the body’s total mass, yet consumes ~20% of its energy at rest. The blood vessels of the brain act like a plumbing system, delivering energy in the blood wherever it is needed in the brain. So, when this system fails it might impact our brain health and help to drive diseases like Alzheimer’s disease. Join me for this talk to understand why these tiny blood vessels are big players in our brains, discover what we know so far about their role in disease and, importantly, what we are still trying to figure out!
Organized by: Clara Muñoz Castro (RCCHU Postdoctoral Researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital (Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit), Harvard Medical School, Harvard University
Speaker: Orla Bonnar (Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Harvard University)
Sponsor: RCCHU; Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School, Harvard University
LOCATION:RCCHU Conference Room, 26 Trowbridge St. STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20230221T230000Z DTEND:20230222T000000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR