by Playfuls Staff |
15th February 2007
A U.S. scientist says the true cause of the neurological damage resulting from Alzheimer's disease might [more] rest in the way certain brain proteins fold.
Professor Michael Bowers of the University of California-Santa Barbara says the key to his approach is understanding the way those proteins fold, or rather, "misfold."
Bowers says until about five or six years ago, everyone assumed large amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's victims caused the disease.
"However, recent scientific discoveries indicate that these large, insoluble aggregates might merely be markers of the disease -- they do not cause the disease," said Bowers. "Rather, smaller soluble oligomers, or peptide complexes, are now felt to be the causative agents, and I find that very interesting."
His research team is analyzing the structure and composition of the Abeta 42 peptide and its oligomers, studying the way that peptide folds, causing it to aggregate and disrupt neuronal function.
Bowers' laboratory will receive $1.3 million of a $9 million project grant from the National Institutes of Health, plus biological samples worth an additional $500,000. The grant covers a five-year period and involves four institutions.
© 2007 UPI
