Calcium channel blockers may be beneficial in treating memory loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD), reveals a new study.
Calcium channel blockers may play an important role in treating memory loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD), reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. Alzheimer's //disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia but the changes in brain cell function underlying memory loss remains poorly understood. Researchers at the University of Bristol have identified that calcium channel blockers may be effective in treating memory loss.
‘Calcium channel blockers may reduce the severity of memory decline in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease (AD).’
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The team's findings found treating a diseased brain cell with a blocker of the L-type channel reduced the number of calcium ions able to flow into the brain cell.Read More..
The research team used fruit flies to study AD, using a fluorescent molecule called GCaMP6f, which reports the amount of calcium ions inside brain cells.
They found that diseased brain cells become overloaded with calcium ions, which at normal levels are important for memory formation. This overload was due to the overproduction of the gene encoding a channel, known as the L-type channel, which allows calcium ions to flow into the cell from outside. More of these channels means more calcium ions are able to flow into the cell, disrupting memory formation. Using a drug to block the L-type channel reversed the effect of disease and reduced the flow of calcium ions to a normal level.
The research team also investigated the memory of fruit flies by testing if they could remember which of two odors had previously been paired with an electric shock - similar to Pavlov's experiments with dogs.
While healthy flies remembered well, the diseased flies, like humans, displayed impaired memory. However, if the overproduction of L-type channels was corrected in the diseased flies, their brain cells were no longer overloaded with calcium ions and their memory was just as good as healthy flies. This shows that memory loss is likely due to calcium overload because too many L-type channels are made and, if this is corrected, memory impairment is rescued.
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"L-type channels have been thought to have a role in AD for some time and this study shows a direct link between memory loss and L-type channel overproduction in brain cells."
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Source-Eurekalert