Scientists may have finally found how Alzheimer’s spreads through the brain
News
– University of Utah Health
– A common brain protein may be giving Alzheimerâs disease an unexpected way to spread, carrying toxic Tau proteins from damaged neurons into healthy ones. By blocking these harmful protein packages before they reach new cells, researchers believe it may one day be possible to slow the disease’s relentless progression.
Alzheimer’s disease is marked by the buildup of a toxic protein called Tau, which damages and eventually kills brain cells. As this harmful protein moves into new areas of the brain, the disease progresses, leading to worsening memory loss and cognitive decline.
Details
Now, researchers have uncovered an unexpected player in that process. In a study of mice, they found that a brain protein called Arc, which normally helps neurons communicate, also appears to help toxic Tau spread from diseased brain cells to healthy ones.
The discovery points to a possible new strategy for slowing Alzheimer’s disease. Rather than trying to eliminate Tau entirely, future treatments might stop it from reaching healthy brain cells in the first place.
“I’m excited by the fact that we’ve identified a new way of potentially stopping the progression of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Jason Shepherd, PhD, professor of neurobiology at University of Utah Health and senior author of the study.
Analysis
The findings were published in the journal Cell.
How Arc Helps Toxic Tau Travel
To investigate how Alzheimer’s spreads, the researchers compared mouse models of the disease with and without the Arc protein. Their experiments showed that Arc is essential for moving toxic Tau between neurons.
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