More and more older people are currently suffering from Alzheimer’s. The background of the disease has not yet been fully clarified, but certain protein accumulations in the brain are said to be significantly involved in its development. The spread of these proteins in the brain was recently examined by scientists at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich (LMU). These observed infection-like patterns.
Spread of misfolded proteins causes mental deterioration
In Alzheimer’s, more and more misfolded amyloid and tau proteins accumulate, resulting in an increasing mental decline. This was explained by the LMU research team in a press release regarding the study results, which were recently presented in the journal “Nature”. The investigation has revealed that the tau proteins appear to spread within interconnected neural networks, much like an infection does.
Alzheimer’s is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system and the main reason for dementia in the elderly. It is estimated that there are now around 44 million Alzheimer’s patients around the world. The disease goes hand in hand with the memory and orientation difficulties typical for her, as well as with speech and thinking disorders. In many cases, the personality of those affected suddenly changes. In the advanced course of the disease, they can usually no longer cope with everyday life independently.
investigation details
As the disease progresses, more and more nerve cells and contact points between neurons are destroyed. According to the current state of research, Alzheimer’s is already beginning to accumulate beta-amyloid proteins in the brain, which accumulate outside the nerve cells. These so-called “plaques” soon begin to accumulate within the nerve cells, which is probably responsible for the progressive course of the disease.
The more tau proteins accumulate, the worse the symptoms of those affected. This confirms Dr. Nicolai Franzmeier from the Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research in the LMU press release. Team leader Prof. Michael Ewers, first author Dr. Franzmeier and the rest of the research team therefore analyzed the distribution of tau proteins in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients using imaging techniques. With this “tau PET”, they took two samples, each with 50 patients, and analyzed all changes in the brains of the patients over a period of one to two years. In addition, at the beginning of the study, an examination of the brains was carried out using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) so that the functional connection of nerve cells could be determined.
Linked nerve cells serve as a path of propagation
Using the longitudinal data, the researchers determined whether the spread of the tau proteins can be predicted using the topology of functional brain networks. In fact, a special spread along interconnected brain regions has been found. The spread of tau proteins takes place via connected nerve cells, at the synapses they are transmitted to other neurons, similar to the case with an infectious infection.
The functional connection between brain regions is indispensable for mental performance. A prediction of the spread of tau proteins through these links could be helpful for physicians to make an individual prediction of a patient’s future mental decline.
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