Lipids in the brain an important factor for Alzheimer'...(formed they cannot disappear or be trans...)

Date:12/10/2007

formed they cannot disappear or be transformed into another structure. Ivo Martins, Joost Schymkowitz and Frederic Rousseau (VIB, Vrije Universiteit Brussel), and Inna Kupperstein and Bart De Strooper (VIB, K.U.Leuven) have shown that certain lipids normally occurring in the brain can destabilize the fibrils, and therefore also the plaque that is so typical of Alzheimer's disease. The liberated protofibrils are toxic for brain cells, causing them to die off at least in vitro. The researchers were able to show that this also happens in vivo by injecting laboratory animals (mice) with the protofibrils. This caused memory loss in the mice. The researchers explain that these symptoms are comparable with those of early stage dementia in humans.

Producing protofibrils for new applications in medicine

The discovery opens up a new avenue of research into possible medicines against Alzheimer's disease. It indicates that substances that neutralize the toxicity or the formation of protofibrils might be able to be used as medicines against Alzheimer's disease. With the discovery of a method for producing toxic protofibrils, the researchers at the VIB have provided a good model for finding medicines that could counteract the formation of protofibrils. Their research also indicates that the concentration of lipids in the brain greatly influences the biological equilibrium between non-toxic plaques and toxic oligomeres. These results open up new avenues of research into the effects of fat metabolism for diseases such as Alzheimer's.

'/>"/>

Contact: Sooike Stoops info@vib.be 329-244-6611 VIB (the Flanders Institute for Biotechnology) Source:Eurekalert

1 GOOD

Page: 1 2
Related biology news :

1. Chemists get grip on slippery lipids
2. Invasion of the brain tumors
3. HIV is a double hit to the brain
4. AIDS interferes with stem cells in the brain
5. 60 second test could help early diagnosis of common brain diseases
6. U of MN researchers discover noninvasive diagnostic tool for brain diseases
7. U of Minnesota researchers discover noninvasive diagnostic tool for brain diseases
8. Influence of sex and handedness on brain is similar in capuchin monkeys and humans
9. Inside the brain of a crayfish
10. Specific brain protein required for nerve cell connections to form and function
11. Brains timing linked with timescales of the natural visual world