Researchers Detect the Cause of Progression of Alzheimer’s In The Brain

Nov, 2021 - By SMI

A new study that used human data to analyze Alzheimer’s progression in the brain found that it develops in different regions of the brain instead of starting from a single point.

The international team of scientists from the University of Cambridge conducted a research, where for the first time human data is used to assess the speed of various procedures that cause Alzheimer’s disease. The study found that Alzheimer’s disease develops in a different way than it was thought earlier. According to the research, the disease reaches different parts of the brain than starting from a single point and inducing a chain reaction that drives the brain cells death.

In order to find out causes of Alzheimer’s progressions, the team studies PET scans of patients ranging from mild cognitive impairment to late-stage of the disease, as well as post-mortem brain samples of patients with Alzheimer’s disease to observe the accumulation of tau, which is one of the key proteins that is related to the condition. The aggregation of tau and amyloid-beta protein causes the brain cells to die and the shrinking of brain resulting into memory loss and difficulty to carry out daily functions and changes in personality. Studying the five different datasets, the scientists found that the replication of aggregates in separate brain parts controls the progression rate of the disease instead of the spread of aggregates from one part to another.

Moreover, the team discovered that tau aggregates replication is significantly slow taking up to five years and instead of propagation of the replication of aggregates, stopping it would be more effective at the stages of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the team, to develop more effective treatment, it would require to make these neurons even better at stopping the aggregate replication. The team now plans to extend the study to other brain disorders such as progressive supranuclear palsy, temporal dementia, and traumatic brain injury where aggregation of tau is observed during the disease.