| dc.description.abstract | Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, currently affecting 50 million people worldwide. While plaques of misfolded protein amyloid-beta (Aβ) are a hallmark of the disease, drugs targeted to reduce or eliminate plaques have not been successful in restoring cognitive function. Questions now arise as to if, in fact, the plaque deposition or inflammatory response to those plaques cause cognitive decline. Yet treatments developed to alter immune responses or immunize against disease associated Aβ had adverse side-effects. Because comorbidity of AD and type II diabetes (T2D) are common, some have abandoned the “amyloid hypothesis” – which suggests that the misfolded proteins are the root cause of the disease – in favour of AD as a metabolic disease instead. Though there are drugs that effectively manage T2D by lowering blood glucose or lipid levels, studies have shown that amla fruit is just as effective. Other studies support claims that this plant confers anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and other benefits as practiced in traditional Indian medicine. The aim of this project was to test effect of Emblica officinalis or amla phytoextract on the behaviour and pathology of Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. In these experiments, the well-characterized C57Bl/6J strain of Mus musculus was genetically modified to express the humanized amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) which develops cerebral amyloid plaques to serve as a pathological AD model. The Morris Water Maze was performed according to established protocol and animal activity was monitored thereafter. Brain tissue was analyzed by Western Blot to detect insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) and APP proteases α-secretase (ADAM10) responsible for normal protein processing and β-secretase (BACE-1) involved in pathogenic protein production. Disease pathology was assessed through immunohistology to quantify neuronal, astrocyte, microglial, and amyloid plaque coverage using NeuN, GFAP, Iba1, and 4G8 antibodies respectively. In behavioural tests, animals administered plant treatment showed improved spatial reference memory during the water maze. Post-mortem results showed increased microglia coverage percentage and count per 10 mm2 in the cortex of water treated mice compared to their plant treated counterparts. Previously reported anti-inflammatory properties of amla fruit may be responsible for the reduced immunological response of mice administered the treatment. Neuroinflammation is now thought to contribute to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) more than amyloid plaques, therefore treatments that minimize cerebral inflammation may benefit patients. | eng |