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Alzheimer's disease is commonly associated with clumps and tangles of proteins building up in brain cells. Yet for more than a century, accumulations of a completely different material have also been linked with the neurodegenerative condition.
A study led by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine returned to observations of large fat drops made by Alois Alzheimer when he made critical descriptions of the pathology at the turn of the 20th century.
Over the years, those lipid deposits haven't received as much attention as other biological changes linked to Alzheimer's – such as the bundles of amyloid beta and tau proteins in the brains of people with the disease. The new study was looking to change that.
Scientists already know that variations in a gene which produces a fat-transporting protein is an important risk factor for Alzheimer's. Different forms of the protein, called for apolipoprotein E (APOE), have varying efficiencies in their ability to move fat in and out of cells.
www.sciencealert.com
A study led by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine returned to observations of large fat drops made by Alois Alzheimer when he made critical descriptions of the pathology at the turn of the 20th century.
Over the years, those lipid deposits haven't received as much attention as other biological changes linked to Alzheimer's – such as the bundles of amyloid beta and tau proteins in the brains of people with the disease. The new study was looking to change that.
Scientists already know that variations in a gene which produces a fat-transporting protein is an important risk factor for Alzheimer's. Different forms of the protein, called for apolipoprotein E (APOE), have varying efficiencies in their ability to move fat in and out of cells.
The Hidden Cause of Alzheimer's May Have Been Identified a Century Ago
Alzheimer's disease is commonly associated with clumps and tangles of proteins building up in brain cells.
www.sciencealert.com
