For years, scientists have been studying how the accumulation of toxic molecules in the brain could cause or contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. But much more difficult has been the discovery of the reason that triggers the process that causes these molecules to begin to accumulate.
Now, a team of researchers at Curtin University says the “leak” of a a toxic compound called beta-amyloid blood flow could be the problem, according to a study performed in mice, recently published in the journal PLOS Biology.
New treatments for Alzheimer’s will be developed
Although it is not yet clear whether the same process occurs in humans, the discovery could provide scientists with a new way to track or monitor the onset of the disease. Alzheimer and may help them develop new treatments to prevent it.
“Although I knew that the distinctive feature of people living with the disease Alzheimer it was the progressive accumulation of toxic protein deposits in the brain, called beta-amyloid, I didn’t know where the amyloid came from or why it was deposited in the brain “, say the study’s lead author and Curtin researcher John Mamo.
Specifically, the team found that beta-amyloid, a compound that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer, which has long been associated with the onset of dementia, is formed outside the brain, then transferred to the bloodstream by lipoproteins.
In the new study, scientists found that those lipoproteins tend to leak out, allowing toxic compounds to reach the brain and begin to accumulate. Mice that had higher levels of amyloid production also showed a higher degree of inflammation in the brain, suggesting a link between the compound and the occurrence of neurodegenerative disease.
“This ‘blood-brain’ pathway is significant because if we can manage blood levels of amyloid lipoproteins and prevent them from leaking into the brain, this opens up new potential treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and slow memory loss,” he added. Mama.
It would take confirmation that the same connection exists in humans before anyone can talk about new treatments for Alzheimer’s. But Mamo suggests in a press release that certain medications or even dietary changes could reduce the amount of amyloid in the blood, potentially contributing to prevention or at least delaying Alzheimer’s.
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