Individual differences in Alzheimer's molecular structure

The first detailed characterization of the molecular structures of amyloid-beta fibrils that develop in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease suggests that different molecular structures of amyloid-beta fibrils may distinguish the brains of Alzheimer's patients with different clinical histories and degrees of brain damage. A comparison of amyloid-beta fibril fragments from the brain tissue of two patients with different clinical histories and degrees of brain damage found different molecular structures, confirming cell research showing that amyloid-beta fibrils grown in a dish have different molecular structures depending on the specific growth conditions.

Obviously, this is a very small study, and will need to be confirmed across more patients. However, it’s important for indicating that structural variations may correlate with variations in Alzheimer’s, and that structure-specific amyloid imaging agents may need to be used.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-09/cp-aps090513.php

[3587] Lu, J-X., Qiang W., Yau W-M., Schwieters C D., Meredith S C., & Tycko R.
(2013).  Molecular Structure of β-Amyloid Fibrils in Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Tissue.
Cell. 154(6), 1257 - 1268.

Related News

In the first mouse study, when young and old mice were conjoined, allowing blood to flow between the two, the young mice showed a decrease in

In a small study, 266 older adults with mild cognitive impairment (aged 70+) received a daily dose of 0.8 mg folic acid, 0.5 mg vitamin B12 and 20 mg vitamin B6 or a placebo for two years.

Comparison of 99 chimpanzee brains ranging from 10-51 years of age with 87 human brains ranging from 22-88 years of age has revealed that, unlike the humans, chimpanzee brains showed no sign of shrinkage with age. But the answer may be simple: we live much longer.

A study involving 105 people with Alzheimer's disease and 125 healthy older adults has compared cognitive function and brain shrinkage in those aged 60-75 and those aged 80+.

A three-year study following 1,262 healthy older Canadians (aged 67-84) has found that, among those who exercised little, those who had high-salt diets showed significantly greater cognitive decline.

In my book on remembering what you’re doing and what you intend to do, I briefly discuss the popular strategy of asking someone to remind you (basically, whether it’s an effective strategy depends on several factors, of which the most important is the reliability of the person doing the remindin

A study comparing activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in young, middle-aged and aged macaque m

Dietary changes affect levels of biomarkers associated with Alzheimer's

Sleep apnea linked to later dementia

A study involving 298 older women with sleep problems found that those who had disordered breathing (such as sleep apnea) were significantly more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment.

Functional impairment good indicator of mild cognitive impairment

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news