New hope for Alzheimer’s patients
(a new light into what had been until now)
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A finding by a team of Rockefeller University scientists led by Dr Paul Greengard, a Nobel laureate, throws light on an important feature of Alzheimer’s disease. The finding may result in better treatment for both this disease and for patients with Down syndrome. Better treatment for both diseases could improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.
Patients with both Alzheimer’s disease and with Down syndrome have an accumulation of a protein called beta-amyloid in their brains. The accumulation of this substance is believed to initiate the pathological changes (among them the plaque that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s) leading to brain dysfunction, cell death and dementia. The hallmark lesions (tangles and plaques) of Alzheimer’s disease are also present in all adults with Down syndrome after the age of 40, suggesting a shared genetic susceptibility to both. Although it wasn’t known if beta-amyloid played a role in mental retardation, particularly in Down syndrome patients, the Rockefeller scientists worked under the hypothesis that it could have an effect. If this were true, they reasoned, lowering levels of beta-amyloid could result in an improvement of symptoms.
Dr Greengard and his collaborators found an enzyme (enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions) that stimulates the production of beta-amyloid. In the new study, led by Gen He, a research associate in Greengard’s lab, the researchers showed that the enzyme stimulates production of beta-amyloid in cell lines, and that reducing it brings down beta-amyloid. That enzyme could thus be an important target for the development of new drugs against Alzheimer’s disease. Read more: gulf-times.com
Dr Greengard and his collaborators found an enzyme (enzymes are proteins that speed up chemical reactions) that stimulates the production of beta-amyloid. In the new study, led by Gen He, a research associate in Greengard’s lab, the researchers showed that the enzyme stimulates production of beta-amyloid in cell lines, and that reducing it brings down beta-amyloid. That enzyme could thus be an important target for the development of new drugs against Alzheimer’s disease. Read more: gulf-times.com
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