Molecular Networks

HB and 2B Pencil drawing on cartridge paper. 2021 20 x 33.5cm Personal collection of the artist

Imagining the self referencing regulation of the molecular networks involving the amyloid beta protein

Dementia is a devastating illness for the person slowly disappearing and for the family around them.

After over two deacdes in dementia research, I am still nowhere near understanding the mechanisms behind this terrible disease. This drawing represents the interactions of the amyloid beta protein with other cellular systems over time that can lead to the formation of accumulations of amyloid in the brain called amyloid plaques. Amyloid can also be deposited in the walls of blood vesssels in the brain. How these abnormal deposits of the amyloid beta protein contribute to dementia is still not well understood.