Posted on 06/06/2022 9:57:38 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Fragmented tau that accumulates in neurons in those with Alzheimer’s disease may be a new target for drugs to treat the neurodegenerative disease.
The form of tau, which is broken into fragments that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, is likely to play a role in the degenerative progression associated with the condition, the researchers say. It is distinct from other tau accumulations that have been the focus of earlier drug development.
Because this type of truncated tau protein is not present in the brains of patients with most other forms of dementia, measuring the fragments in cerebrospinal fluid may be a way to more accurately diagnose or stage the disease.
In addition, the protein fragments, and the enzyme that cuts the protein into pieces, might prove to be promising drug targets for which there are already drugs in development.
Researchers have long known that another type of tau, called phospho-tau, is present in neurons affected by Alzheimer’s disease, forming its characteristic and disruptive tangles. Efforts to target this type of tau with drugs have thus far been unsuccessful.
Truncated tau, specifically when it has been fragmented by an enzyme called caspase-6, appears to have a separate role in neurodegeneration in people with Alzheimer’s disease and another form of dementia known as Pick’s disease, according to Grinberg, who is also a member of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences.
The researchers were able to assess tau in human brains thanks to UCSF’s Neurodegenerative Disease Brain Bank. By observing donated tissue from 37 patients, they found that neurons of some patients with Alzheimer’s disease had both types of tau, while others had only the fragmented tau.
(Excerpt) Read more at neurosciencenews.com ...
I think that Short Bus Biden’s problem may be the accumulated “morons” clogging his brain...
Does this mean I can start using my aluminum pots and pans again?
I wouldn’t
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.