On Wednesday 20 May 2026 at 13:00, Mia Viuf Skøtt defends her PhD dissertation entitled “Insights into in-vivo microvascular dynamics in health, ageing and Alzheimer's disease”.

Ageing and vascular pathologies cause progressive structural and functional vascular impairments, including reduced neurovascular coupling, arterial stiffening, and capillary rarefaction, all of which compromise cardiovascular function. In this context, the academic world has increasingly recognised that dysfunction within the cerebral microvasculature may precede, amplify, or even drive components of neurodegenerative disease rather than merely accompany them.

This thesis is based on six studies that explore whether and how microvascular dynamics, such as pulsatility and vasomotion, change in healthy ageing, in Alzheimer's disease, and how different anaesthetic agents affect these dynamics. The results show that healthy ageing does not lead to significant changes until old age, but there are clear differences between the sexes. In Alzheimer's disease, both females and males show reduced contractility in isolated arteries, where females show a recovery of contractility, whereas males show no effect after low-dose, low-frequency GLP-1 treatment.

The summary is written by the PhD student.

The defence is public and takes place in Eduard Biermann Auditorium, (1252-204), Aarhus University. Please see the press release for more information. 

Contact

PhD student Mia Viuf Skøtt
Mail: mia.vs@cfin.au.dk  
Phone: +45 30117557

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