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痴呆症的漫漫长路
阿尔兹海默症会在几十年的时间里发展。它开始于一个致命的连锁反应，大量错误折叠的β-淀粉样蛋白生成，最终充斥大脑。包括来自图宾根Hertie临床大脑研究所(HIH)和德国神经退行性疾病中心(DZNE)的Mathias Jucker在内的研究人员在《Nature Neuroscience》杂志上表明，这种连锁反应在老鼠身上发生的时间比通常认为的要早得多。这意味着，除了众所周知的疾病的早期阶段有蛋白质沉积但没有痴呆症的症状外，还有一个更早的阶段，在这个阶段链式反应是由看不见的微小聚集种子触发的。如果证实这种情况也会发生在人类身上，那么以针对疾病原因为主的治疗方式必须预防这一过程。科学家们已经鉴定出一种抗体可以实现这一点。
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研究人员通过操纵线粒体来改善神经元的重编程
替换失去的神经元是神经科学领域至关重要的环节。目前，富有前景的新方法是将神经胶质细胞转化为新的神经元，提高脑损伤后这种转化或重新编程的效率是开发可靠的再生医学疗法的重要一步。 Helmholtz Zentrum Münche和慕尼黑路德维希马克西米利安斯大学（LMU）的研究人员已经确定了有效转化的障碍：细胞代谢。 通过在直接重编程过程中，早期表达富含神经元的线粒体蛋白，研究人员实现了高四倍的转换率，同时提高了重编程速度。
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Dormant threat: Abnormal proteins unleash latent toxicity in neurodegenerative diseases
In a recent study published in the Journal of Cell Biology, scientists from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology, Korea, have discovered the mechanism of action by which abnormal proteins actually unleash the inherent, but normally latent, toxicity of a natural protein in neurons, causing defects in dendrites (branched parts of a neuron that […]
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Memories Create ‘Fingerprints’ That Reveal How the Brain is Organized
new research shows how the differences between how people reimagine common scenarios can be observed in brain activity and quantified. These unique neurological signatures could ultimately be used to understand, study, and even improve treatment of disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. “When people imagine similar types of events, each person does it differently because they […]
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Early signs of Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down’s syndrome
Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have studied the incidence and regional distribution of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers in the brains of people with Down’s syndrome. The results can bring new possibilities for earlier diagnosis and preventive treatment of dementia. The study is published in Molecular Neurodegeneration. In the current study, the researchers studied the extent […]
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Drug eases recovery for those with severe alcohol withdrawal
A drug once used to treat high blood pressure can help alcoholics with withdrawal symptoms reduce or eliminate their drinking, Yale University researchers report Nov. 19 in the American Journal of Psychiatry. In a double-blind study, researchers gave the drug prazosin or a placebo to 100 people entering outpatient treatment after being diagnosed with alcohol […]
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Taking Out the Trash is Essential for Brain Health
A research team at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) find that Wipi3, a protein involved in cellular waste disposal, is crucial for neuronal health Tokyo, Japan – A little mess never killed anyone, right? Wrong. Researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) have recently shown that a build-up of cellular “trash” in the […]
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CLCN6 identified as disease gene for a severe form of lysosomal neurodegenerative disease
A mutation in the CLCN6 gene is associated with a novel, particularly severe neurodegenerative disorder. Scientists from the Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) and the Max Delbrück Center für Molekulare Medizin (MDC), together with an international team of researchers, have now analyzed the effect of a point mutation that was found in three unrelated affected […]
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Diabetes increases neuritic damage around amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s disease
New research from the University of Eastern Finland explores the role of diabetes in the cellular and molecular changes underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In an AD mouse model, diabetes induced through a diet rich in fats and sugars weakened the accumulation of microglial cells around amyloid plaques and increased the formation of neuritic plaques with […]
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Tau protein changes correlate with Alzheimer’s disease dementia stage
Research into Alzheimer’s disease has long focused on understanding the role of two key proteins, beta amyloid and the tau protein. Found in tangles in patients’ brain tissue, a pathological form of the tau protein contributes to propagating the disease in the brain. In new research from their joint laboratory, Judith Steen, PhD, and Hanno […]