Evaluating the relationship between age-dependent white matter microglia activation and post-stroke cognitive impairment
Description: It remains unclear why, in some patients, a stroke can spark a brain-wide injury process that will ultimately lead to cognitive impairment. Research from our team and others suggests that inflammatory processes within the white matter, a structure responsible for connecting brain regions, increases during normal aging, is further enhanced following a stroke, and may be responsible for cognitive impairment following stroke. Despite this, a clear understanding of the molecular changes related to white matter damage in the context of aging and stroke is lacking. This proposal will use a targeted preclinical rat model of stroke to better understand the timing of these inflammatory processes and how they are related to overall brain function, with a focus on linking cognitive outcomes with imaging and inflammatory molecular changes. We aim to understand the timing, purpose, and consequence of brain white matter inflammation during normal aging and following a stroke. Targeting these inflammatory processes post-stroke is an intuitive strategy to prevent cognitive decline. Therefore, work in our proposal will also use various intervention strategies to prevent inflammation with the aim of protecting brain white matter and preventing cognitive impairment post-stroke. We are entering a time when the aging population is outgrowing the overall population by four-fold. This aging cohort is at risk for suffering a stroke and for developing cognitive impairment. By understanding the molecular and behavioural underpinnings of brain inflammation prior to, and following stroke, we can make the strong case of intervening in these inflammatory processes to prevent post-stroke cognitive impairment.
Amount: CA$845,300
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Project Grant
Start date: 2021-10-01
End date: 2026-09-30
Investigator: Shawn Whitehead
Institution: Western University (Ontario)
Subfield: Neurology
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Funded outputs count: 0
Funder award ID: 177997_1
OpenAlex ID: G4201885745