Cerebral amyloid angiopathy is involved in Alzheimer dementia through reduction in arterial blood flow that may impair protein synthesis, which is required for learning and memory, and lower the threshold for ischemic injury. Elevated serum response factor (SRF) or myocardin (MYOCD) activity in subjects afflicted by or at risk for development of Alzheimer's disease (AD) promotes a "vascular smooth muscle cell" (VSMC) hypercontractile phenotype in brain arteries and enhance accumulation of Abeta in the vessel wall. This, in turn, can initiate a disease process in cerebral arteries which can cause brain arterial hypoperfusion and neurovascular uncoupling, that are commonly seen in AD. Thus, SRF and MYOCD represent novel targets for treating arterial dysfunction associated with cognitive decline in AD.
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