Andreza de Bem, BSc MSc PhD
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Affiliation(s):
University of Brasilia
ORCID URL:
Areas of Interest:
high fat diet, memory impairment, Obesity/Adipose tissue dysfunction and Aging/Alzheimer's disease/neurodegeneration;
Biography & Research:
The excessive consumption of food rich in fat and sugar, sedentary life-style and hypercholesterolemia are closely associated with the development of metabolic disorders such as obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease. However, this whole-body metabolic imbalance has a detrimental impact on brain function, leading to increased risk of dementia and neurodegeneration.
It is urge to know the biological aspects of this interaction to develop better therapies, which can actually stop the disease process.
Our previous work put some pieces in this puzzle. Using a genetic rodent model of hypercholesterolemia, we visualize the impact of the elevated plasma cholesterol levels on brain dysfunction. Our data identified blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfuntion, neuroinflammation and redox and metabolic impairment underlying memory dysfunction in hypercholesterolemic mice. Importantly, the cognitive impairment, which occurs very early in life in hypercholesterolemic mice, was not related to amyloid-β pathology.
Our current lab work focuses on understanding early brain metabolic dysfunction that might precede and be involved in the high fat/sugar diet-induced neurodegenerative process. We aim to investigate the impact of Western diet on disturbing the metabolic, bioenergetics and redox function of neuronal cells. We believe that cellular metabolic changes, regarding mitochondrial function, might be involved in the early trigger of neuronal dysfunction that culminate in cognitive impairment.
