Ananthan Ambikairajah

Ananthan Ambikairajah
University of Canberra · Department of Psychology

Bachelor of Science (Neuroscience)

About

18
Publications
4,925
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
392
Citations
Introduction
Ananthan Ambikairajah is a passionate neuroscientist, educator and science communicator. His research interests include genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors which influence brain health, with a particular focus on menopause. Ananthan is determined to conduct research that can have a positive, widespread impact on society, in addition to communicating his scientific work to the public to spark interest, critical thought and encourage scientific discourse.

Publications

Publications (18)
Article
Our objective was to distinguish ALS, ALS-FTD and bvFTD via a novel visual MRI cortical atrophy scale that can be employed in a clinical setting. MRI images of 100 participants (33 ALS, 11 ALS-FTD, 22 bvFTD and 34 controls) were rated in four brain areas: orbitofrontal cortex, anterior temporal pole, anterior cingulate, and motor cortex. Areas were...
Article
Objective: Data: Fat mass has been shown to increase in aging women; however, the extent to which menopausal status mediates these changes remains unclear. The purpose of this review was to determine (1) how fat mass differs in quantity and distribution between premenopausal and postmenopausal women, (2) whether and how age and/or menopausal statu...
Article
Objectives: The aim of the study was to determine lipid profile differences between premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Methods: The present review used a meta-analytic approach. Sixty-six studies were included, which provided a total sample of 114,655 women consisting of 68,394 that were premenopausal and 46,261 that were postmenopausal. R...
Article
Objectives: To investigate the cross-sectional association between measures of menstruation history (including menopausal status, age of menopause, age of menarche, and duration of reproductive stage) and brain volume. Methods: Women (aged 45 to 79 years) from the UK Biobank were included (n = 5,072) after excluding those who had (1) hysterectom...
Article
Full-text available
Global prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease has a strong sex bias, with women representing approximately two‐thirds of the patients. Yet, the role of sex‐specific risk factors during midlife, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and their interaction with other major risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease, such as apolipoprotein E (APOE)‐e4 genot...
Article
Full-text available
Background Consistent evidence shows that magnesium (Mg) intake is associated with lower blood pressure (BP), and that lower BP is associated with improved cerebral health. However, recent findings indicate that the positive effect of dietary Mg intake on cerebral health is not mediated by a decrease in BP. As Mg’s anti-inflammatory action is a pla...
Article
Full-text available
Several modifiable risk factors for neurodegeneration and dementia have been identified, although individuals vary in their vulnerability despite a similar risk of exposure. This difference in vulnerability could be explained at least in part by the variability in DNA repair mechanisms’ efficiency between individuals. Therefore, the aim of this stu...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction The menopause transition is associated with several cardiometabolic risk factors. Poor cardiometabolic health is further linked to microvascular brain lesions, which can be detected as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) using T2-FLAIR magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Females show higher risk for WMHs post-menopause, but it rem...
Preprint
The menopause transition is associated with several cardiometabolic risk factors. Poor cardiometabolic health is further linked to microvascular brain lesions, which can be detected as white matter hyperintensities (WMHs) using T2-FLAIR magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. Females show higher risk for WMHs post-menopause, but it remains unclear...
Article
Full-text available
Sleep is an emerging risk factor for dementia but its association with brain health remains unclear. This study included UK Biobank (n = 29,545; mean age = 54.65) participants at imaging visit with sleep measures and brain scans, and a subset (n = 14,206) with cognitive measures. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to study the assoc...
Preprint
Full-text available
Introduction Sleep is an emerging risk factor for dementia but its association with brain health remains unclear. Methods A total of 29,545 UK Biobank participants with sleep measures and brain scans, and a subset (n=14,206) with cognitive measures were included. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to study the associations between s...
Article
Full-text available
Menopause nomenclature varies in the scholarly literature making synthesis and interpretation of research findings difficult. Therefore, the present study aimed to review and discuss critical developments in menopause nomenclature; determine the level of heterogeneity amongst menopause definitions and compare them with the Stages of Reproductive Ag...
Thesis
Full-text available
Maintaining a healthy brain has been recognised as an important health challenge facing women, given global estimates indicate almost twice as many women die of dementia than men. In part, this is due to their increased longevity, however, this does not explain all of the difference. Other contributors include different exposure to risk factors as...
Article
Objective This study aimed to investigate cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations between fat mass (i.e., body mass index [BMI], waist circumference [WC], and waist to hip ratio [WTHR]) and hippocampal volumes. Methods UK Biobank participants (N = 20,395) aged 40 to 70 years (mean follow‐up = 7.66 years), were included and categorized into o...
Article
First-year undergraduates may be particularly prone to experiencing difficulties with facilitating feelings of relatedness, due to the recent shift in educational environments (i.e. from high school to university), which may be unfamiliar. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine whether the implementation of a single pedagogical strategy, c...
Article
Full-text available
The interest in, and use of, computers and software for assessment is reported to be increasingly popular via electronic examinations (e-exams). We deepen our understanding of the design, reception and effectiveness of e-exams for history and philosophy of science modules, undertaken by first-year advanced science and medical science students at un...
Article
Full-text available
Macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1), also known as growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), is a stress response cytokine. MIC-1/GDF15 is secreted into the cerebrospinal fluid and increased levels of MIC-1/GDF15 are associated with a variety of diseases including cognitive decline. Furthermore, Mic-1/Gdf15 knockout mice (Mic-1 KO) weigh more,...
Data
Data Summary. All processed raw data of the various behavioural tests carried out are listed in the Excel file. (XLSX)

Network

Cited By