Rui Chang

Equity Interest - Non-publicly traded entity ( e.g., stock, stock option, or other ownership interest)

Metabolic Networks and Pathways Predictive of Sex Differences in AD Risk and Responsiveness to Treatment

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder causing dementia, is estimated to affect 16 million people worldwide by 2050. Currently, no treatments exist to stop or reverse its progression. Sex has been demonstrated to play a major role in the pathogenesis, progression, and clinical manifestation of AD. Women with AD tend to exhibit a broader spectrum of dementia-related behavioral symptoms and experience greater cognitive deterioration than men in the progression of the disease. Moreover, several studies provide new evidence supporting the long-held belief that women's brains are more vulnerable than men's brains to AD. The molecular basis for the sex differences in disease and its progression remains unknown. In this study, we use global metabolomics approach to delineate biochemical differences in men and women across the trajectory of disease. We aim to define biochemical pathways and networks for greater vulnerability of disease in women and men that would enable discovery of more effective therapies for each of the sexes.