Exploring the use of neural stem cells to improve cognition in a primer for “Neural stem cells improve cognition via BDNF in a transgenic model of Alzheimer disease”
Madeleine R. Chalmers
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, neural stem cells, BDNF
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease is the fastest growing cause of dementia, with an estimated number
of 131.5 million people to be affected by 2050. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by
loss of neurons leading to degeneration of the brain. Memory and cognitive deficits occur
in those with Alzheimer’s disease. There are two factors that are thought to contribute
to the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: amyloid-b (Ab) plaques and neurofibrillary
tangles made up of tau proteins. Burton-Jones et al. transplanted neural stem cells
(NSCs) secreting brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNF) into mice and studied the
effects. The goal of this primer is to explain how the use of growth factor-secreting
NSCs improved cognition in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease despite not affecting
the Ab plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.
