Team:UCL/Background

From 2013.igem.org

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Revision as of 17:36, 13 August 2013

BACKGROUND INFO

Alzheimer's Disease

Our project this year blends the fields of synthetic biology and neuroscience. We aim to demonstrate that genetic engineering techniques can be applied to the brain, creating synthetic biological systems capable of rectifying abnormalities in the brain on a cellular and macromolecular level.

Such novel application of synthetic biology could offer new ways to treat brain diseases, such as our target, Alzheimer’s disease, for which most modern pharmaceutical treatment is purely symptomatic.

Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia. Symptoms include memory loss, mood fluctuations and problems with communication and reasoning. It is a physical, degenerative condition that causes cell death in the brain.

The box to the left provides an abstract for the page 'Neuropathology'. Clicking the abstract box will direct the user to a page titled Neuropathology where more detail is presented.

Neuropathology

There are many hypotheses on the causes for Alzheimer’s disease, though there are three accepted signs in the brain: plaques, tangles and cell death. We focus on the so called ‘Amyloid Hypothesis’.

Links here

Microglia

Microglia are the resident, mobile immune cells in the brain, performing many of the same roles as one’s white blood cells. In our project, we try to use microglia as a chassis for our genetic circuit.

Links here

@@ Line 45: / Line 45: @@
 			<div class="col_left">
-                 <p class="major_title">RESEARCH</p>
+                 <p class="major_title">BACKGROUND INFO</p>
 				<p class="minor_title">Alzheimer's Disease</p>
 				<p class="body_text">
-				Dementia is an age related neurodegenerative condition, characterised by failure of recent memory and intellectual functions (attention, language, visual-spatial orientation, abstract thinking, judgement), and tends to progress steadily. These changes are due to the mounting dysfunction and death of brain cells, called neurons, that are responsible for the storage and computation of information. Late stages of the disease often see patients bedridden, mute and incontinent. Although some drugs can temporarily improve memory, pharmaceutical research, through enlightening, has been clinically unsuccessful.  At present there are no treatments that can halt, let alone revert, the inexorable progression of dementia. </p>
+				Our project this year blends the fields of synthetic biology and neuroscience. We aim to demonstrate that genetic engineering techniques can be applied to the brain, creating synthetic biological systems capable of rectifying abnormalities in the brain on a cellular and macromolecular level.  </p>
 				<p class="body_text">
-Alzheimer’s disease is the most common of the dementias, afflicting 5-10% of the US population over 45, and 2% of the population in industrialised countries (Mattson 2004). It is
+Such novel application of synthetic biology could offer new ways to treat brain diseases, such as our target, Alzheimer’s disease, for which most modern pharmaceutical treatment is purely symptomatic. </p>
-predicted that its incidence will rocket up threefold 50 years from now (http://www.alz.org).
-It is mainly ‘late-onset’, arising after the age of 60, though rarer early onset types exist. Because there are other forms of dementia and other means of memory impairment, AD can only be verified post-mortem by examining the deceased’s brain. </p>
 			</div>
@@ Line 73: / Line 71: @@
 			<div class="col_abstract">
 <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:UCL/Background/Alzheimers">
-				<p class="abstract_title">Alzheimer's</p>
+				<p class="abstract_title">Alzheimer's Disease</p>
 				<p class="abstract_text">
-There are many vying hypotheses which postulate how Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) may arise. There are many vying hypotheses which postulate how Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) may arise. Words words words words words words words words.
+Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia. Symptoms include memory loss, mood fluctuations and problems with communication and reasoning. It is a physical, degenerative condition that causes cell death in the brain.
 				</p>
 </a>
@@ Line 97: / Line 95: @@
 <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:UCL/Background/Neuropathology">
 				<p class="abstract_title">Neuropathology</p>
-				<p class="abstract_text">There are many vying hypotheses which postulate how Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) may arise. There are many vying hypotheses which postulate how Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) may arise. Words words words words words words words words.
+				<p class="abstract_text">There are many hypotheses on the causes for Alzheimer’s disease, though there are three accepted signs in the brain: plaques, tangles and cell death. We focus on the so called ‘Amyloid Hypothesis’.
 				</p>
 </a>
@@ Line 125: / Line 123: @@
 <a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:UCL/Background/Microglia">
 <p class="abstract_title">Microglia</p>
-<p class="abstract_text">There are many vying hypotheses which postulate how Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) may arise. There are many vying hypotheses which postulate how Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) may arise. Words words words words words words words words.
+<p class="abstract_text">Microglia are the resident, mobile immune cells in the brain, performing many of the same roles as one’s white blood cells. In our project, we try to use microglia as a chassis for our genetic circuit.
 </p>
 </a>