Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2014
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Committee Chair
Miranda N. Reed
Committee Co-Chair
Karen G. Anderson
Committee Member
Steven G. Kinsey
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for 60 to 80% of all dementias, affects over 5 million Americans, and incurs annual healthcare costs of over {dollar}200 billion (Alzheimer's Association, 2012). Hyperphosphorylation of tau, the main component of neurofibrillary tangles observed in AD, leads to deficits in cell structure and function. Because recent data suggest impairments in cerebral glucose utilization and energy metabolism play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of AD, we sought to create a mouse model that emulates the metabolic changes using intracerebroventricular infusions of streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) in transgenic mice expressing human tau. The Barnes maze, a test of spatial learning and memory, and a panel of antibodies directed at biochemical changes in tau associated with AD were used to assess memory deficits and tau pathology, respectively. The behavioral and biochemical findings of the current study provide inconsistent support for the use of an ICV-STZ model in mice expressing human tau, and future studies should employ a battery of behavioral assays to determine if subtle memory deficits occur.
Recommended Citation
Rudy, Carolyn C., "A streptozotocin-induced model of Alzheimer's disease in mice with wild-type human tau" (2014). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 620.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/620