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Scientists at the Institute say that they focus on when healthy tau proteins start to turn into deadly entanglements in the brain. This could lead to further interventions
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People in their forties may find gray hair on the outside of their head while they develop a new fear of what is inside their skull. One of the biggest concerns is the development of dementia.
An expert in dementia claims that his team has discovered a "big bang" of Alzheimer's disease – the exact point at which a healthy protein becomes toxic but has not yet formed entanglements Mortals
A study of the O Donnell Brain Institute of the University of Texas Southwestern offers a new insight into the changing nature of a molecule's shape just before tau 39, it begins to stick to itself to form larger aggregates
. sticky formations are a marker found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
The findings suggest new strategies for detecting the disease that ravages the brain before it settles.
It also spawned an effort to develop treatments that stabilize tau proteins before they change shape.
"We think of this as the Big Bang of tau pathology.This is a way to scrutinize the very beginning of the disease process," said Dr. Marc Diamond, director of the UT Southwestern Center for Disease Control. Alzheimer's disease and neurodegenerative diseases.
"It may be the biggest discovery we've made to date, but it will probably take some time before benefits materialize at the clinic." That's changing a lot of our way of thinking the problem, "he told Science Daily.
Diamond, holder of the prestigious Chair in Basic Brain Damage and Repair, is founding director of the Alzheimer's Center and Neurodegenerative Diseases. He also collaborated in the study with associate author Lukasz Joachimiak, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Alzheimer's Center and Neurodegenerative Diseases and at a laboratory for the study of neurology and neurodegenerative diseases. Peter O Donnell Institute Jr.
. Researcher Marie Cain in Medical Research
Diamond is credited with determining that tau acts as a prion – an infectious protein that can self-replicate.
It was previously believed that an isolated tau protein does not have a distinct form of its own and is harmful only after having begun to assemble with other drugs. other tau proteins to form these distinct entanglements.
This recent study, published in the eLife journal, contradicts further research is needed
Despite billions of dollars spent on clinical trials over the decades, Alzheimer's disease remains the only one of its kind. one of the most disconcerting diseases in the world, affecting more than 5 million people in the United States. 19659005] According to Heather M. Snyder, Ph.D., Senior Director of Medical and Scientific Operations at the Alzheimer's Association, the government's role in funding research has grown exponentially from $ 500 million in 2009 to 2 billion dollars today.
"And we still need more," she said.
The disease is analyzed and attacked from all sides.
Earlier this month, researchers at Yale University tested a new method for measuring synaptic loss. Alzheimer.
"It's an interesting study.What they put together is a solid and exciting research," Snyder told Healthline
. It is essential to know how the tau can come together in entanglements to develop treatments.
"There are things that must happen before arriving at a solution," Snyder said. "Understanding biology is the key."
She also emphasizes the need for federal funding.
"This work is so valuable and must continue and the Alzheimer's Association is a leader in this conversation," she said. "The hunt is based on this discovery and making a cure. that blocks the process of neurodegeneration where it begins, "added Diamond. "If it works, the incidence of Alzheimer's disease could be drastically reduced.
Studying tau
Diamond's lab, at the forefront of many notable discoveries at tau, previously determined that tau acts as a prion – an infectious protein that can spread like a virus in the brain.
Tau protein in the human brain can form many distinct strains, or self-replicating structures. Team has developed methods to replicate this phenomenon in the laboratory
Diamond claims that his most recent research indicates that a single pathological form of tau protein may have several possible forms, each associated with a particular form. different from dementia
the scientific field can use the new findings to help identify the genesis of the disease
They have a viral target for diagnosis early stage before the symptoms of memory loss and cognitive decline become apparent, he says.
Next, his schedule provides for the team to develop a simple clinical test that examines the blood or cerebrospinal fluid of a person to detect the first biological signs of abnormal tau protein.
But just as importantly, says Diamond, efforts are underway to develop a treatment that would make the diagnosis the basis of a useful intervention. He cites a compelling reason for cautious optimism: Tafamidis, a drug recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, stabilizes a protein that transforms the form called transthyretin that causes a build up of deadly proteins in the heart, similar to that of brain. 19659005] The hope is that one day gray hair will become the biggest concern of older adults about their head.
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