Have Scientists Found Alzheimer’s “Big Bang”? | @Ben Ryan | @Dr J Partyka @ Pharmative.com
Researchers belief they have pinpointed the genesis of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain: the way that proteins known as tau become irregular, clump together, and then lead to a mass accumulation of tangled masses. Such disruptions to the brain kill neurons and lead to the cognitive decline and memory loss that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects some 5 million Americans.
Publishing their findings in the journal eLife, researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the study authors extracted tau proteins from human brains and then isolated them. They discovered that the shape-shifting molecule can expose a portion of itself that ordinarily is folded within its structure. This exposed surface becomes the glue that allows it to stick to other tau molecules and ultimately form harmful tangles.
The research team is on the hunt for a blood or spinal fluid test that could detect early signs of the development of abnormal tau proteins and thus a very early diagnostic test predicting the eventual onset of Alzheimer’s. Ideally, any medical test tees up a therapeutic response, so the scientists hope to discover a way to prevent the accumulation of tau tangles. They are hopeful about the feasibility of such a feat because of a recently approved drug called tafamidis (Vyndaqel), which stabilizes a protein known as transthyretin that similar to tau, is a shape shifter and can give rise to harmful accumulation of such proteins in the heart.
#AlzheimersDisease #Tafamidis
Sources:
1) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180710153739.htm
2) https://elifesciences.org/articles/36584
Scientists have discovered a 'Big Bang' of Alzheimer's disease -- the precise point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed deadly tangles in the brain.
Researchers belief they have pinpointed the genesis of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain: the way that proteins known as tau become irregular, clump together, and then lead to a mass accumulation of tangled masses. Such disruptions to the brain kill neurons and lead to the cognitive decline and memory loss that is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects some 5 million Americans.
Publishing their findings in the journal eLife, researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, the study authors extracted tau proteins from human brains and then isolated them. They discovered that the shape-shifting molecule can expose a portion of itself that ordinarily is folded within its structure. This exposed surface becomes the glue that allows it to stick to other tau molecules and ultimately form harmful tangles.
The research team is on the hunt for a blood or spinal fluid test that could detect early signs of the development of abnormal tau proteins and thus a very early diagnostic test predicting the eventual onset of Alzheimer’s. Ideally, any medical test tees up a therapeutic response, so the scientists hope to discover a way to prevent the accumulation of tau tangles. They are hopeful about the feasibility of such a feat because of a recently approved drug called tafamidis (Vyndaqel), which stabilizes a protein known as transthyretin that similar to tau, is a shape shifter and can give rise to harmful accumulation of such proteins in the heart.
#AlzheimersDisease #Tafamidis
Sources:
1) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180710153739.htm
2) https://elifesciences.org/articles/36584
The 'Big Bang' of Alzheimer's: Scientists ID genesis of disease: Focus efforts on deadly shape-shifting tau protein
sciencedaily.com
Scientists have discovered a 'Big Bang' of Alzheimer's disease -- the precise point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed deadly tangles in the brain.