How brain changes during perimenopause may affect Alzheimer's risk in women
Animal
This work looks at how brain and immune changes during perimenopause could raise Alzheimer's risk in midlife women using a humanized APOE animal model.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Arizona NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Tucson, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11129675 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers use a rodent model that mimics human perimenopause and carries human APOE genes to mirror key features of midlife female brain changes. The Animal Core maintains the animals, runs behavioral and physiological tests, delivers intervention regimens, and collects brain and other tissues. Samples and data are shared with analytic teams to search for immune and other brain changes that predict higher Alzheimer's risk. The goal is to find biological signs in midlife that might point to ways to prevent later Alzheimer's.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Women in perimenopause or midlife who are concerned about Alzheimer's risk—especially those with known APOE risk variants—are most relevant to these findings.
Not a fit: People who are not female, not in midlife/perimenopause, or whose Alzheimer's risk is unrelated to APOE or perimenopausal biology may not directly benefit from these results.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify midlife biological changes to target for preventing or delaying Alzheimer's in women.
How similar studies have performed: APOE-based animal models have been widely used to study Alzheimer's mechanisms, but applying a perimenopause-focused model to link midlife immune changes to later Alzheimer's risk is a relatively new approach.
Where this research is happening
Tucson, United States
- University of Arizona — Tucson, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Tian — University of Arizona
- Study coordinator: Wang, Tian
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.