We certify that we read this thesis written by _Steven Masi_ in the Summer Semester 2021 and, in ... more We certify that we read this thesis written by _Steven Masi_ in the Summer Semester 2021 and, in our opinion, it is sufficient in scientific scope and quality as a thesis for the degree of Masters in Experimental Psychology.
Heavy alcohol use increases the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD); however, the underlying mechani... more Heavy alcohol use increases the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD); however, the underlying mechanisms are not addressed. The key chemical of alcohol beverages is ethanol (EtOH), and acetaldehyde is its key toxic metabolite. QIAGEN Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) bioinformatics tool was used to investigate and compare the holistic impact of EtOH and acetaldehyde on AD. An extensively researched biomarker of AD pathologies is amyloid-beta of which the precursor is amyloid precursor protein (APP). Molecules associated with APP or EtOH were collected from the QIAGEN Knowledge Base, and 313 molecules were overlapping between the molecule sets. Using the “Pathway Explorer” tool, 40 of the 313 molecules were found to change due to EtOH exposure and influence APP and were compared with acetaldehyde-mediated molecule expression changes. A pathway analysis of the findings related to these 40 molecules showed that EtOH increases APP expression at a confidence of p = 0.056 (z-score = 1.91, two-...
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Papers by Steven Masi