Meet our researchers
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease still relies heavily on self-reported symptoms and tests by a doctor to assess memory and thinking skills. Lab and imaging tests are rarely performed before the onset of irreversible clinical symptoms of dementia, in part because they’re costly, invasive and time-consuming.
Myeong Jin Ju at the University of British Colombia is studying whether information gained from retinal imaging would be useful in detecting and diagnosing Alzheimer’s early and if it would be specific enough to rule out other retinal diseases.
The hippocampus, located in the brain, is important for memory and produces new brain cells —a process known as neurogenesis — in adulthood. This decreases with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and is related to increased inflammation. Women show reduced neurogenesis and increased neuroinflammation.
Liisa Galea’s research at the University of British Columbia finds that biological sex influences neurogenesis in the hippocampus. She is examining whether sex differences in inflammation and levels of stem cells increase cognitive decline and put women at greater risk for Alzheimer’s.
For more on the research you make possible, visit alzheimer.ca/Research