Lay summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) presents an enormous and growing health, social and economic challenge for New Zealand, which has a dramatically ageing demographic. AD is not treatable, and inflicts societal costs greater than cancer, heart disease and stroke combined. This Programme of research focuses on learning more about the mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease so that more effective therapies can be developed. We will study molecules in the post-mortem Alzheimer brain that may be key players in the disease process, and use new and improved models of the disease to determine if these correlate with the development of the disease from its earliest stages. We will then undertake preclinical tests of novel therapeutic strategies, building on our recent successes in this regard. This research will extend understanding of how we can harness the brain’s own neuroprotective and memory-enhancing molecules to fight the disease.