Publications by authors named "D Wilcock"
Anti-Aβ immunotherapy use to treat Alzheimer's disease is on the rise. While anti-Aβ antibodies provide hope in targeting Aβ plaques in the brain there still remains a lack of understanding regarding the cellular responses to these antibodies in the brain. In this study we sought to identify acute effects of anti-Aβ antibody on immune responses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe immune system is a key player in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders. While brain resident immune cell-mediated neuroinflammation and peripheral immune cell (eg, T cell) infiltration into the brain have been shown to significantly contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, the nature and extent of immune responses in the brain in the context of AD and related dementias (ADRD) remain unclear. Furthermore, the roles of the peripheral immune system in driving ADRD pathology remain incompletely elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Placental growth factor (PlGF) may regulate cerebrovascular permeability. We hypothesized that white matter interstitial fluid accumulation, estimated via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) free water (FW), would explain the associations between elevated PlGF, white matter hyperintensities (WMH), and cognitive impairment.
Methods: MarkVCID consortium participants ≥55 years old with plasma PlGF and brain MRI were included.
Article Synopsis
- By age 40, over 90% of adults with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer’s disease, with many progressing to dementia, despite having few typical vascular risk factors.
- This study analyzed how small vessel cerebrovascular disease impacts Alzheimer's disease progression and neurodegeneration in adults with Down syndrome, using MRI and plasma biomarker data from 185 participants.
- Results indicated a complex relationship where white matter hyperintensity (WMH) levels influenced phosphorylated tau, linked by glial fibrillary acidic protein, suggesting that cerebrovascular health affects Alzheimer’s pathology in this population.
Article Synopsis
- Anti-β-amyloid immunotherapy with lecanemab shows promise for Alzheimer’s patients, particularly those with Down syndrome, who develop Alzheimer-like brain changes by their 40s.
- A study analyzed postmortem brain tissue from 15 individuals with Down syndrome to assess how well lecanemab binds to amyloid plaques and blood vessels in the brain.
- Results indicated that while lecanemab effectively binds to amyloid plaques, it also binds significantly to blood vessels, raising safety concerns and highlighting the need for careful clinical trials in this population.