Functional copper deficiency models of Alzheimer's disease

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/454386

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Alzheimer's disease is a serious neurodegenerative disease which increases in incidence with age. It affects the quality of life and care required for approximately 160,000 Australians and costs the national economy 6.6 billion dollars per annum. Current therapy is of limited efficacy. Our studies are directed towards testing the hypothesis that a functional deficiency of the essential trace element, copper, occurs in the brain with ageing, and this leads to oxidative stress and death of neurons associated with Alzheimer's disease. We will use animal and cell culture models to test this hypothesis which is based on promising preliminary data from such models. We believe that beta amyloid, which accumulates in Alzheimer's brains and is believed to be a major part of the pathological mechanism, has a normal role in maintaining copper balance and that this balance is disturbed by ageing or particular mutations. This research should lead to better treatments using drugs which mobilise copper entry into cells.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $454,691.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Neurosciences not elsewhere classified

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Alzheimer's Disease | Amyloid beta protein | Copper Transport | Mental health | Neurodegeneration | Neuronal degeneration | Trace element | transgenic mice

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