by Playfuls Staff |
7th September 2006
A U.S.-led study suggests defects in a crucial brain protein level is involved in memory loss, similar to the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. [more]
The Duke University Medical Center research shows the ability to recognize familiar objects is lost when levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine are reduced.
Mice genetically engineered to have modest defects in acetylcholine display symptoms resembling those of Alzheimer's, such as the inability to remember familiar faces, according to the team of international researchers.
"By using these genetically engineered mice as models of Alzheimer's, we can learn more about the neuronal circuitry of the brain and perhaps even discover new ways to alleviate the symptoms of this devastating disease," said senior study investigator Marc Caron, a professor of cell biology.
"Acetylcholine is important for every function in the body -- breathing, eating, walking, practically everything," Caron said. "If we (eliminated) the protein completely, then the mice would die. So instead, we just knocked its function down to a low level."
The U.S.-Brazilian team reports its findings in the Sept. 7 issue of the journal Neuron.
