Archive for February 1st, 2010
-
Feb 01, 2010
No Comments3 brain diseases linked by toxic form of same neural protein
(University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine) Researchers have found that three different degenerative brain disorders are linked by a toxic form of the same protein. Elk-1 was found in clumps of misshaped proteins that are the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. This suggests a molecular link between the presence of inclusions...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsMitochondrial DNA haplogroups in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration
Conclusions: We conclude that the haplogroup cluster IWX was associated with FTLD in our cohort. Further studies in other ethnically distinct cohorts are needed to clarify the contribution of mtDNA haplogroups to FTLD and AD. (Source: Molecular...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsStudy Shows Cigarette Smoking a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease
A UCSF analysis of published studies on the relationship between Alzheimer's disease (AD) and smoking indicates that smoking cigarettes is a significant risk factor for the disease. After controlling for study design, quality of the journals, time of publication and tobacco industry affiliation of the authors, the UCSF research team also found an association between...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsFish Oil to Prevent Psychotic Disorders?
As reported by the Associated Press, this month the Archives of General Psychiatry has published the results of a study that was designed to find out whether omega-3 fatty acids such as are found in fish oil have any benefit in preventing psychosis from developing, specific in teens and young adults. The study was small -...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsAge-Related Lesions in the Cerebrum in Middle-Aged Female Cynomolgus Monkeys.
Authors: Kodama R, Yang X, Sasaki Y, Iwashige S, Tanigawa Y, Yoshikawa T, Nagaoka T, Kamimura Y, Maeda H Alzheimer's disease (AD) in humans is a progressive neurogenic disease that can be linked with such characteristic pathological findings in the cerebrum as senile plaques (SPs), neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA),...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsMorphologically distinct types of amyloid plaques point the way to a better understanding of Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis.
Authors: D'Andrea M, Nagele R Abstract The details of the sequence of pathological events leading to neuron death in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are not known. Even the formation of amyloid plaques, one of the major histopathological hallmarks of AD, is not clearly understood; both the origin of the amyloid and the means...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsPhosphorylated tau 231, memory decline and medial temporal atrophy in normal elders.
Authors: Glodzik L, de Santi S, Tsui WH, Mosconi L, Zinkowski R, Pirraglia E, Wang HY, Li Y, Rich KE, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Mehta P, de Leon MJ Little is known whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) can predict both memory decline and associated longitudinal medial temporal lobe...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsAssociation of AICD and Fe65 with Hirano bodies reduces transcriptional activation and initiation of apoptosis.
Authors: Ha S, Furukawa R, Fechheimer M Hirano bodies are cytoplasmic inclusions predominantly found in the central nervous system associated with various conditions including aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since most studies of Hirano bodies have been performed in post-mortem samples, the physiological roles of Hirano bodies have not been investigated. Astrocytoma...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsAcetylcholinesterase: From 3D Structure to Function.
Authors: Dvir H, Silman I, Harel M, Rosenberry TL, Sussman JL By rapid hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, acetylcholinesterase terminates neurotransmission at cholinergic synapses. Acetylcholinesterase is a very fast enzyme, functioning at a rate approaching that of a diffusion-controlled reaction. The powerful toxicity of organophosphate poisons is attributed primarily to their potent...
-
Feb 01, 2010
No CommentsTerry Pratchett | A tribunal of mercy
As I face Alzheimer's, I want to die at a time of my choosing. We need a better way of assisting loved ones who wish the sameAs a pallid and nervous young journalist, I got to know about suicide. It was part of my regular tasks to sit in at the coroner's court, where I...
