Scientists have been able to determine the presence of beta amyloid in the form of plaques in the brains of people suffering from Alzheimer’s. What they have not been able to pinpoint is whether the beta amyloid plaques cause Alzheimer’s or are just present as a side effect of the condition.
They have also been able to determine the presence of another protein called tau, which according to some researchers, could be the cause of the disease. Some form of clarity regarding the disease is slowly emerging now, with scientists being able to induce Alzheimer’s symptoms in rats by injecting beta amyloid into them.
More specifically, a team of scientists led by Harvard Medical School doctors Ganesh M. Shankar and Dennis J. Selkoe were able to induce the Alzheimer’s symptoms by injecting a particular type of the protein.
Rats injected with other forms of beta amyloid failed to show symptoms characteristic of Alzheimer’s, according to the study. This could possibly be the explanation as to why not all people with beta amyloid in their brain do not necessarily suffer from Alzheimer’s.
During the course of the study, the team injected soluble beta amyloid into the rats’ brains. The protein had differing numbers of molecules and also insoluble cores of the plaque. The researchers discovered that the insoluble plaque and the one and three-molecule forms of beta amyloid did not cause any symptoms they could see.
However, in the case of the two-molecule form of beta amyloid, the researchers were able to detect symptoms usually seen in Alzheimer’s patients. They also conducted studies on mice and found a 47% reduction in density of the brain cells. According to the team, the beta amyloid had a direct impact on the brain’s synapses.
The research was funded by the National Institute on Aging. Speaking about the findings of the team, Dr. Marcelle Morrison Bogorard, who is a director of neuroscience at the institute, said it was for the first time that researchers were able to pinpoint the effect of a specific type of beta amyloid on the brain.
Making her remarks during the course of a telephone interview, Morrison-Bogorard said what was surprising was that only one of the three types of beta amyloid used produced the symptoms of Alzheimer’s.
Morrison-Bogorard said, “A lot of work needs to be done. Nature keeps sending us down paths that look straight at the beginning, but there are a lot of curves before we get to the end.”
For the study, the research team used brain extracts from people who had donated their bodies to the cause of medicine.
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