Word: amyloid
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...August, a team of scientists at Northwestern University were the first to show why the brain's "memory function" fails in the face of an insulin shortage. The group's prior research had already pinpointed the culprit: toxic proteins called amyloid beta-derived diffusible ligands (ADDLs, for short), which are known to pile up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Scientists also knew that Alzheimer's patients' brains have lower levels of insulin and are insulin resistant. But what the Northwestern team discovered is the molecular mechanism behind that resistance: when ADDLs bind to neurons at synapses, they...
...deep end of science is where Jose Varghese likes to be. Part of the pioneering team that in the mid '90s developed the anti-influenza drug Relenza - one of only two drugs known to be effective against avian flu - Varghese is now focusing on an enigmatic protein, amyloid beta, and what he suspects are its toxic effects on the brains of people with Alzheimer's. In the international race to uncover amyloid beta's molecular structure - the crucial first step in finding out how to block its pathological effects - synchrotron X rays are a crucial tool. The molecules...
...brain disorder, Alzheimer's earliest sign might be an imbalance in the body's immune system. This shows up as an inflammatory reaction that occurs not just in the brain cells, but throughout the body. The net effect of this imbalance is a build up of the toxic amyloid protein, which is poisonous to brain cells and triggers their progressive death. In fact, argues Alkon, the amyloid accumulates into sticky, fatty plaques because the inflammatory reaction shuts down production of the non-toxic, soluble form of amyloid that normally keeps the toxic form in check. Alkon's group picks...
...Already the Rockefeller group has expanded its study to include over 100 more samples, and is close to testing a drug designed to boost the production of "good" amyloid. "We think we are getting at the core of the disease, at the very essence of it," says Alkon. Only time will tell if he is right...
Nose drops developed by Harvard Medical School researchers have impeded the development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice, and an anti-Alzheimer’s nasal spray for humans could be on the horizon. While plaques made up of beta-amyloid proteins accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers, the new vaccine allows the immune system to produce antibodies that fight these proteins. In tests that have are detailed in the latest issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, the vaccine significantly diminished plaques on the brains of treated mice. Similar tests on human subjects began...