New Trigger for Alzheimer's Disease May Have Been Found
Summary
A new study from the University of California, Riverside suggests that Alzheimer's disease may begin with problems inside nerve cells, where two proteins, amyloid beta and tau, interfere with each other. This challenges the previous belief that the disease starts mainly with amyloid beta clumps outside cells.Key Facts
- Alzheimer's has been linked to clumps of a protein called amyloid beta (a-beta) in the brain.
- Treatments aimed at removing amyloid beta clumps have not successfully stopped or reversed Alzheimer's.
- Another protein, tau, also builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's, but how it connects with amyloid beta was unclear.
- The study found amyloid beta and tau compete for the same spot on structures inside nerve cells called microtubules.
- Amyloid beta can block tau from doing its normal job, which may disrupt the cell’s internal transport system early in the disease.
- This competition may cause tau to clump and move where it should not be inside the cell.
- Researchers say this new insight could help explain early stages of Alzheimer’s and guide future research.
- Experts note this theory is plausible but still needs more proof to confirm it drives Alzheimer’s in patients.
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