Insights Give Hope for New Attack on Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s researchers are obsessed with a small, sticky protein fragment, beta amyloid, that clumps into barnaclelike balls in the brains of patients with this degenerative neurological disease.

It is a normal protein. Everyone’s brain makes it. But the problem in Alzheimer’s is that it starts to accumulate into balls — plaques. The first sign the disease is developing — before there are any symptoms — is a buildup of amyloid. And for years, it seemed, the problem in Alzheimer’s was that brain cells were making too much of it.

But now, a surprising new study has found that that view appears to be wrong. It turns out that most people with Alzheimer’s seem to make perfectly normal amounts of amyloid. They just can’t get rid of it. It’s like an overflowing sink caused by a clogged drain instead of a faucet that does not turn off.

Decreased Clearance of CNS-B-Amyloid in Alzheimer's Disease
Published Online 9 December 2010
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1197623

For UHM only:
PMID: 8744411

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/14/health/14alzheimers.html?_r=1&ref=health