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Chapter Support for Research
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We are a leading Chapter in raising money to fund Alzheimer's
research. Many of our donors have a strong commitment to finding
better treatments and a cure for the disease. For many years, a
portion of the money raised at the annual gala and auction was
designated for research. More recently, we have focused on funding
research projects in Seattle. Two projects are underway:
Chang-En Yu PhD of the Veteran's Hospital (Seattle) is
conducting a two-year study on the The Role of Phospholipid Transfer
Protein in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease. Dr. Yu and
colleagues are studying particular regions of APOE that act as a
kind of "switch" for activating the gene and setting in motion the
protein production events. They are examining how variations in
these regions may affect APOE production and function and whether
such variations are related to Alzheimer's disease processes.
Pamela McMillan, PhD, of the Seattle Institute for Biomedical
and Clinical Research, is investigating the relationship between
insulin and the APOE-4 gene. In this study, Effect of APOE on IDE
and Insulin Signaling, the researchers will compare IDE levels in
another Alzheimer-affected brain region from people with APOE-e4 or
people with other forms of APOE gene. They will also examine IDE
levels in the brains of mice genetically altered to carry pairs of
either APOE-e4 or other forms of APOE. This work may clarify whether
APOE-e4 does influence IDE function. |
