Batenburg, Charlotte (2021) The potential increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in menopausal women due to decreased estradiol levels. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.
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Abstract
This thesis aims to answer the research question: Does the decrease in estradiol due to menopause increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD)? And specifically, if this is the case, why does a subgroup of women suffer from the drop in estradiol while others seem resilient? Menopause is characterised by a sharp decrease in estradiol in the periphery and the brain. Based on estradiol’s protective effects, the drop in estradiol is thought to influence the brain negatively. Since researchers suggest that pathological changes in the brain occur 15 years prior to the clinical onset of AD, the onset of AD and menopause is around the same time. This led to a hypothesis that proposed that when estradiol levels in the brain decline, it makes neurons more susceptible to age-related neurodegenerative processes; for example, the forming of amyloid-β plaques. There is substantial evidence the decrease in estradiol due to menopause can increase the risk of developing AD. It seems that women do need underlying problems to set off the development of AD; such as decreased aromatase activity in the brain or disproportional cholinergic dysfunction compared to age-related controls.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Supervisor name: | Buwalda, B. |
| Degree programme: | Biology |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 07 May 2021 07:49 |
| Last Modified: | 07 May 2021 07:49 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/24364 |
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