The “hidden cause” of Alzheimer’s disease! – Libyan Al-Marsad newspaper

United States – Alzheimer’s disease is linked to the accumulation of protein clumps and tangles in brain cells, but accumulations of a different substance that has also been linked to a neurodegenerative condition for more than a century may be related to the development of the disease.

In this regard, a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine reviewed the observations of large fat deposits made by Alois Alzheimer (the discoverer of the first condition, “pre-senile dementia,” which he later called “Alzheimer’s”) when he provided critical descriptions of pathology at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Over the years, these fat deposits have not received as much attention as other biological changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, such as amyloid beta bands and tau proteins in the brains of people with the disease.

The researchers explained that variations in a genetic gene that produces a protein that transports fats are a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. They revealed that different forms of the protein, called apolipoprotein E (APOE), have varying efficiencies in their ability to transport lipids into and out of cells.

The research team took a closer look at different types of APOE in cells made in the lab, and in tissue samples of people who died from Alzheimer’s disease.

They noticed that the APOE4 gene is associated with a higher level of a certain enzyme that helps fats move more easily.

In another experiment, when amyloid was added to tissue samples taken from people with the APOE3 or APOE4 gene variants, more lipids accumulated in non-neuronal brain cells called glia.

Researchers believe this may be what happens with Alzheimer’s disease, where toxic substances accumulate in supporting glial cells.

More careful study will be needed to know for sure what is happening.

The study was published in the journal Nature.

Source: ScienceAlert