Unlikely gene variants work together to raise Alzheimer’s risk
Studying spinal fluid from people at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, School of Medicine researchers have found that a gene variation that had not been considered risky actually can increase the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease when it occurs in tandem with another gene variant known to elevate risk. Shown is an image of a brain with a buildup of amyloid deposits (highest amounts in yellow and red) that collect to form senile plaques in patients with Alzheimer’s.
Trial to test prevention of Alzheimer’s has begun
Finding ways to diagnose and
treat Alzheimer’s disease has frustrated scientists and clinicians for decades. But now the battle has reached a potentially significant milestone: the launch of the first clinical trials to test whether giving new drug treatments before dementia can prevent Alzheimer’s. Shown are School of Medicine MDs and Alzheimer’s researchers Randall Bateman (left) and John C. Morris.
Receptor may aid spread of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s in brain
School of Medicine
scientists have found a way that corrupted, disease-causing proteins
spread in the brain, potentially contributing to Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease and other brain-damaging disorders. Pictured are clumps of corrupted tau protein outside a nerve cell, as seen through an electron micrograph.
Brain network decay detected in early Alzheimer’s
In patients with early Alzheimer’s disease, disruptions
in brain networks emerge about the same time as chemical markers of the
disease appear in the spinal fluid, School of Medicine researchers have shown. Pictured is senior author of the study, Beau Ances, MD, PhD, associate professor of neurology and of biomedical engineering.
Alzheimer’s brain change measured in humans
Scientists at the School of Medicine have measured a significant and potentially pivotal
difference between the brains of patients with an inherited form of
Alzheimer’s disease and healthy family members who do not carry the
mutation. Randall Bateman, MD, is the study’s senior author.
XPRIZE proposed to inspire Alzheimer’s research
XPRIZE may create an Alzheimer’s XPRIZE to inspire the ingenuity of researchers to take on the daunting task of stopping the disorder. The Alzheimer’s XPRIZE was proposed by a team of experts co-directed by Eric C. Leuthardt.
Alzheimer’s markers predict start of mental decline
School of Medicine researchers have shown that several markers for presymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease identified in recent years are accurate predictors of Alzheimer’s years before symptoms develop. Catherine Roe, PhD, says researchers found no differences in the accuracy of the biomarkers.
Faulty memory finds a new culprit
Memory problems related to day-to-day activities — one of the largest complaints of people with Alzheimer’s diease — may be due to older adults’ inability to segment their daily lives into discrete experiences, suggests new psychology research from Washington University in St. Louis. How we perceive events in our current lives influences how we remember them in the future, the study finds.
New perspective needed for role of major Alzheimer’s gene
Scientists’ picture of how a gene strongly linked to
Alzheimer’s disease harms the brain may have to be revised, researchers
at the School of Medicine have found. Washington University’s David M. Holtzman, MD, says leading researchers recently agreed that targeting this gene is a promising approach for gaining a better understanding of and improving treatments for the disease.
Genetic markers ID second Alzheimer’s pathway
Researchers at Washington University have identified a new set of genetic markers for Alzheimer’s disease that point to a second pathway through which the disease develops. Much of the genetic research in Alzheimer’s centers on amyloid-beta, a key component of brain plaques in people with the disease. But the new study identified several genes linked to the tau protein, which is found in tangles.
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