Projects
Resilience and vulnerability in the cellular phase of Alzheimer’s disease. KU Leuven
This project proposes an integrative approach to assess how the different pathological mechanisms of AD are linked to each other and how genetic risk of AD underlays resilience or vulnerability. While the classical neuron-centric view on AD pathogenesis sees amyloid peptides as triggers of synaptic dysfunction and Tau pathology as the executor of neurodegeneration, it is now clear that other cell types also react to amyloid plaques and that ...
Losing memory, losing meaning? Towards a deeper understanding of meaning in life in Alzheimer’s disease patients KU Leuven
Within psychological science, the concept of meaning in life is understood as the subjective experience that one’s life makes sense, has a purpose, and is worth living. Burgeoning empirical evidence shows the benefits of experiencing meaning in life for physical and mental health across different populations, including older adults. However, current views of meaning in life assume that complex cognitive abilities are needed to ...
Towards a better understanding of word finding difficulties in typical aging and Alzheimer’s disease Ghent University
Typical aging is characterized by an increase of tip of the tongue experiences. These word finding difficulties reflect an inability to retrieve a word despite a strong feeling of knowing it. Unlike typical aging, word finding difficulties are due to a lexical-semantic impairment in Alzheimer’s disease. Even though these word retrieval failures are not similar, many authors analyse disfluencies during discourse production (e.g., pauses, ...
Complex genetics of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders. University of Antwerp
Identification of ferroptosis dependent Tau kinase activity in two in vitro models of Alzheimer's disease. University of Antwerp
Assessing the link between Alzheimer's disease and atherosclerosis in the APP23 x ApoE knockout mouse model. University of Antwerp
Prevalence of epilepsy and sleep-wake disturbances in Alzheimer’s disease KU Leuven
Investigating the relationship between blood-based biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease, alterations in resting-state co-activation patterns and working memory deficits in a transgenic rat model. University of Antwerp
The foes and friends among the adaptive immune system in Alzheimer’s disease Ghent University
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with an increasing prevalence. Although well-studied, there are still many questions about the origin of AD. Recently, it became evident that inflammation, both peripheral and central, plays an important role. This increase in knowledge can be attributed to the rejection of the long-held belief that the brain is an immune-privileged site. By now it is becoming increasingly ...