The brains of people with the memory-robbing form of dementia are cluttered with a plaque made up of beta-amyloid, a sticky protein. But there long has been a question whether this is a cause of the disease or a side effect. Also involved are tangles of a protein called tau; some scientists suspect this is the cause.
Now, researchers have caused Alzheimer's and dementia symptoms in rats by injecting them with one particular form of beta-amyloid. Injections with other forms of beta-amyloid did not cause illness, which may explain why some people have beta-amyloid plaque in their brains but do not show disease symptoms.
The two-molecule form of soluble beta-amyloid produced characteristics of Alzheimer's and dementia in the rats.
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You can also read about this at
Nature Medicine
or at
National Institute on Aging
Saturday, June 28, 2008
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