Alzheimer’s disease and Glaucoma

Alzheimer’s disease and glaucoma are two age-related neurodegenerative diseases that frequently co-occur in the elderly and may share key disease pathways. Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the optic nerve and is the leading cause of preventable blindness in Aotearoa. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, affecting 70,000 New Zealanders. It is a progressive disease that can affect memory, thinking, behaviour, emotions and personality.

The ‘inflammasome’ pathway is reported to be activated in both Alzheimer’s disease and glaucoma. This pathway can initiate and maintain a chronic inflammatory state that contributes to disease progression. This exciting new research will investigate whether the inflammasome pathway is a significant, unifying pathway in glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease, and whether modulation of this pathway using Tonabersat (a drug used in the treatment of migraines and epilepsy) can result in improved disease outcomes.

To do this, the research will use an established mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease and develop a mouse model for glaucoma. Using these animal models, the research will investigate the inflammasome pathway and whether the administration of oral Tonabersat daily improves visual and memory outcomes and reduces the level of neurodegeneration.