Alzheimer's disease: to prevent the aggregation
(the first step)
Please Help Support Alzheimer's Research Today!
Your Alzheimer's donation will help billions live without it.
When normal proteins form protein clumps in the body, then alarm bells start ringing. Such clumps, called "amyloids," are closely associated with Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes. If doctors knew how these proteins form clumps, then they might be able to treat such diseases more efficiently. The physicist Adrian Keller and his colleagues at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and the university in Aarhus, Denmark, have succeeded in taking a major step in that direction.
The cell surface assumes a major role in this because the proteins are deposited there and form clumps. In type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's, amyloids form on specific cells of the pancreas and the brain, respectively. Even with modern high-performance instruments, it is not possible to observe these processes within the body. Scientists like Adrian Keller, who currently pursues his research at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center "iNano" in Aarhus, are actually attempting to recreate these processes with real proteins on artificial surfaces in the lab.
The cell surface assumes a major role in this because the proteins are deposited there and form clumps. In type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's, amyloids form on specific cells of the pancreas and the brain, respectively. Even with modern high-performance instruments, it is not possible to observe these processes within the body. Scientists like Adrian Keller, who currently pursues his research at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center "iNano" in Aarhus, are actually attempting to recreate these processes with real proteins on artificial surfaces in the lab.
This sounds easier than it really is. It seems that the formation of these clumps is influenced primarily by the surface's hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity. Hydrophilic surfaces are easy to wet whereas hydrophobic ones tend to repel water. Continue to read: news-medical.net
Sunshine vitamin under the spotlight