Futurity.org » Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s types may not share genes

Christopher Jones-Cardiff — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:38:28 +0000

CARDIFF U. (UK) — The genes that cause a rare type of Alzheimer’s disease are unlikely to cause the more common, late-onset form, say researchers.

A team of scientists from Cardiff University examined three genes APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 known to cause uncommon early onset forms of Alzheimer’s.

Tease the brain. It may lower Alzheimer’s risk

Sarah Yang-Berkeley — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:09:25 +0000

UC BERKELEY (US) — Brain-stimulating habits over a lifetime are linked to lower levels of a key Alzheimer’s protein, new research shows.

Brain scans show people with no symptoms of Alzheimer’s who engaged in cognitively stimulating activities throughout their lives had fewer deposits of beta-amyloid, a destructive protein that is the hallmark of the disease.

Protein folding lags in early Parkinson’s

Layne Cameron-Michigan State — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:32:04 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — According to a new study, the protein “clumping” that sets off Parkinson’s disease is the result of a slower folding rate.

A team of researchers led by Basir Ahmad, a postdoctoral researcher at Michigan State University, has demonstrated that slow-wriggling alpha-synuclein proteins are the cause of aggregation, or clumping together, which is the first step of Parkinson’s.

Enzymes may hold key to diseases A-Z

David Orenstein-Brown — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:00:01 +0000

BROWN (US) — Researchers argue that important enzymes—proprotein convertases—are potentially rich targets for developing therapies.

Most people have never heard of proprotein convertases, but the enzymes activate many proteins that are essential for life.

Mutant worms may tag Parkinson’s drugs

Daniel Oppenheimer-U. Texas — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 16:35:39 +0000

U. TEXAS-AUSTIN (US) — Dopamine-deficient worms with a motor switching problem may help identify drugs that will benefit people with Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers have devised a simple test, based on the difficulty that “parkinsonian” C. elegans worms have in switching from swimming to crawling when they’re taken out of water.

Clearest view yet of complex tied to cancer

David Orenstein-Brown — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 16:44:02 +0000

BROWN (US) — Scientists have determined the structure of an enzyme complex that regulates vital cell functions.

Disregulation of such complexes is associated with diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. The findings give drug developers a specific and unique new target to consider in their efforts to find new treatments.

Bilingualism delays onset of Alzheimer’s

Michael Kennedy-Toronto — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:21:04 +0000

U. TORONTO (CAN) — People who speak more than one language do not exhibit symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease until they have twice as much brain damage as unilingual people, a new study shows.

It’s the first physical evidence that bilingualism delays the onset of the disease.

Brain receptors targeted for Alzheimer’s drug

Ellen Goldbaum-Buffalo — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:27:38 +0000

U. BUFFALO (US) — A tiny piece of a critical receptor that fuels the brain shows promise as a new drug target for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

“This is the first time that this site has been shown to be useful as a drug target,” says Gabriela K. Popescu, associate professor of biochemistry at the University at Buffalo.

Alzheimer’s marker rises, falls with sleep

Michael Purdy-WUSTL — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:41:57 +0000

WASHINGTON U.-ST. LOUIS (US) — A marker for Alzheimer’s disease fluctuates in the spinal fluid in a daily pattern that echoes the sleep cycle.

The pattern is strongest in healthy young people and reinforces a link between inadequate sleep and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease that has been discovered in animal models.

Molecule unlocks blood-brain barrier

Krishna Ramanujan-Cornell — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:59:01 +0000

CORNELL (US) — Scientists may have discovered how to safely open and close the blood-brain barrier to deliver drug therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and cancers of the central nervous system.

The research focuses on adenosine, a molecule produced by the body that signals trauma and other physiological functions. Adenosine can modulate the entry of large molecules into the brain. When adenosine receptors are activated on cells that comprise the blood-brain barrier, a gateway into the blood-brain barrier can be established.

While the study, published in Journal of Neuroscience, involved mice, adenosine receptors also are found on these same cells in humans.