Rose Chesworth

The cause of Alzheimer’s disease is unknown and there is a great need for better disease treatments. Inflammation in the brain (neuroinflammation) is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, but it is unclear how neuroinflammation interacts with and/or exacerbates other types of Alzheimer’s disease pathology, or how these interactions can be targeted for treatment.

Using mice, Dr Rose Chesworth investigated these interactions and found that the combination of neuroinflammation with Alzheimer’s pathology worsened cognitive performance and memory in old age mice, compared to mice with Alzheimer’s disease pathology alone, and younger mice. Additionally, mice with the combination had increased levels of the protein tau – a major hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease – in the part of the brain associated with learning. This may explain why cognition was worse in this condition and supports the hypothesis that there are interactions between Alzheimer’s disease pathologies which can worsen cognitive function in older age. Interestingly, the combination of pathology did not worsen motor function or social behaviour and did not alter anxiety-like behaviour in mice at any age tested.

Continuing this research, Dr Chesworth will also examine a new treatment for neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s disease pathology and cognitive impairment. This will help determine if interactions between neuroinflammation and Alzheimer’s disease pathology are a critical component of the cause of Alzheimer’s disease – and if these interactions could be a new treatment target.

Read more about this exciting project

At the time of the award, Dr Rose Chesworth was a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Medicine, Western Sydney University.