Angela Kuhla, Dr. rer.nat
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Affiliation(s):
Rostock University Medical Center
ORCID URL:
Areas of Interest:
metabolic syndrom, Aging and Cognition, Alzheimer disease, brain energy metabolism
Biography & Research:
My main research field is adipositas-associated neurodegeneration with the focus on the fasting hormone, Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 (FGF21), which is also known to regulate the carbohydrate and lipid homeostasis. Exogenous FGF21 reduces in obese patients the plasma concentration of triglycerides and cholesterol. However, it is also known that obese patients reveal a significant rise of hepatic and systemic FGF21 concentrations. This paradox is interpreted with a FGF21-resistance similar to an insulin- or leptin-resistance because obese patients show due to the low-grade inflammation a reduction of the FGF21 co-receptor, ß-klotho, in adipose tissue. If such a FGF21 resistance -mediated by a reduced ß-klotho expression- is also present in brain tissue and may cause neurodegeneration via the FGF21-Glut1 axis is currently the focus of my research.
Parallel, I focus my research on the glymphatic system which was identified as a main contributor to Aβ clearance through glia-mediated perivascular networks. Interestingly, the functionality and efficacy of glymphatic clearance is closely related to circadian rhythm integrity. Understanding the correlation between sleep-wake-cycle and its influence on glymphatic clearance will lead to a refinement in future AD investigations. For this purpose histological (amyloidosis) and, electrophysiological (sleep-wake-cycle) methods, behavioral testing (cognitive performance) and imaging methods (MRI and PET/CT) are used in an Alzheimer ´s disease mouse model.
