Claudia Perez-Cruz, Ph.D.
Primary tabs
JAD profile
Affiliation(s):
CINVESTAV-IPN
ORCID URL:
Areas of Interest:
Life-style and risk factors for Alzheimer´s Disease
Biography & Research:
Claudia Perez-Cruz obtained a Bachelor Degree at the National University of Mexico (major in Biology), followed by a Master Degree in Pharmacology at the University of Toronto, Canada. Thereafter, she moved to Germany where she continued her Doctoral studies at Goettingen University in the field of Neuroscience. She joined the Neuroscience Discovery Group at Abbvie, Germany where she worked as post-doc during 3 years. In 2012, she went back to Mexico, as a principal investigator, at the Center of Research and Advance Studies (CINVESTAV) where her main area of research relies in determining the effect of life-style factors in the development of neuroinflammation and metabolic alterations, that may lead to dementia.
One of the main features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a dysfunction in the metabolism of glucose in the brain. These alterations can be observed in very early stages of the disease, even decades before clinical symptoms. It has been postulated that these metabolic changes could be related to synaptic alterations and cognitive decline.
Diet can modulate neuronal function, either negatively (on diets high in saturated fat and sugars) or positively (on diets rich in fruits and vegetables, polyunsaturated fatty acids and fibers). Dr. Perez-Cruz´s research tries to elucidate the effect of different foods on the metabolic expenditure and neuronal function, both in models of obesity and Alzheimer's disease.
Her research has reported that certain foods can prevent or delay the deterioration of memory, by increasing the metabolic rate of specific type of cells and by modulating the gut-brain axis. This results may help to develop therapeutic strategies to prevent the development of dementia and AD.
Dr. Perez-Cruz´s lab is also interested in new animal models of neurodegeneration. Her group has characterized age related development of neuropathological processes in non-human primate (common marmoset). This models may have the advantage of presenting a closer human genome sequence, as well as a more complex and developed brain compared to rodents.
