PhD Student Caoimhe Byrne

Caoimhe's project is focused on:

Understanding key pathways causing cognitive decline in cerebral small vessel disease  

Cerebral small vessel disease affects over half of people aged 65+ and contributes to 45% of dementia cases. Cerebral small vessel disease is characterised by dysfunction of blood vessels in the brain which can prevent enough oxygen and nutrients being delivered to the brain. This increases the risk of stroke, haemorrhage and ultimately vascular dementia.

My project aims to investigate whether two different pathways involved in regulating blood flow to the brain would be suitable drug targets to treat the symptoms of vascular dementia.

Tell us about your project

PDE5 is a protein which plays a key role in causing blood vessels to contract. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a protein involved in maintaining healthy blood pressure. Inhibiting both PDE5 and ET-1 can cause blood vessels to dilate thereby increasing flow and delivery of nutrients to the brain.

Interestingly, previously Professor Webb found inhibiting PDE5 with a drug resulted in improved cerebral blood flow however, in participants with high levels of ET-1 the impact of the drug was restricted.

We are aiming to understand more about the role of PDE5 and ET-1 pathways in cerebral small vessel disease by analysing data from clinical and observational trials.

How will this research impact people living with dementia?

By understanding the extent to which each pathway impacts cerebral blood vessel function, we can aim to identify the combination of treatments that might be most effective for people with vascular dementia. 

By gathering data on a diverse population of people with cerebral small vessel disease, I hope my research can improve the quality of care available to different demographics within the community which may help reduce the rate which people who go on to develop dementia from cerebral small vessel disease-related events such as stroke or haemorrhage.

What does it mean to you to be a part of Alzheimer's Society Doctoral Training Centre?

The Alzheimer’s Society Doctoral Training Centre enables me to engage with a much wider community than would be possible by undertaking a PhD with an individual institution. It connects science with lived experiences to reduce the gap between academia and the public.  

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to work with Alzheimer’s Society over the coming years to improve knowledge dissemination and to increase the input of those affected by dementia in research design.

Being a part of a Doctoral Training Centre also provides valuable training in important practical skills to develop my proficiency as a competent scientist beyond the PhD.