Low Levels of Toxic Proteins Linked to Brain Diseases: Research

A study suggests that neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's could be better understood thanks to insight into proteins linked to such conditions.

Scientists studying thread-like chains of protein – called amyloid fibres – have found that low levels of these proteins may cause more harm to health than high levels.

Alzheimer’s disease - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Stages, Types, Prevention, Prognosis & Treatment
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting memory and thinking and making the person increasingly dependent on others.

These rarely formed protein chains, which have been linked with dozens of diseases, are produced as a result of a genetic flaw or changes in body chemistry brought about by ageing.

When this happens, short fibres are formed which become sticky and attract copies of themselves, forming an endless chain. These chains spontaneously break, creating more filament ends to which more proteins attach.

In the context of neurodegenerative diseases, it is these short, broken pieces that seem to be most harmful, scientists say.

Medicines Meant to Treat Alzheimers Found to be Good for Victims of Dementia
Cholinesterase inhibitors, that help victims of Alzheimer's disease can also assist in the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia, a new study has shown.

Researchers have found that when protein levels are low, lots of short protein threads are formed. But when protein levels are high, this spontaneous breakage stops and most protein filaments remain long.

Compared with harmful short protein fibres, long fibres do not appear to be damaging in the case of neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers therefore believe that high levels of the protein – which lead to these longer chains – may actually be protective.

Early Alzheimers in Drivers may Prove Potentially Dangerous
Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University have revealed that people with early Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) are more prone to accidents as well as performing poorly in road tests

In addition to shedding light on disease, this insight into the protein chains may help scientists develop useful biomaterials, such as cell scaffolds, which are used for tissue engineering or to make artificial silk.

Cait MacPhee, Professor of Biological Physics at the University of Edinburgh's School of Physics and Astronomy, said; "We would expect that the higher the level of toxins, the worse the disease. However, in this study we found that the lower the level of the protein, the more of these damaging short fibres we see. Understanding how these protein chains form offers us insight not only into how diseases progress, but how we can produce controlled biomaterials for tissue engineering."

New Study Found Statins to Help Prevent Alzheimers
Statins, the anti-cholesterol drugs, may help prevent the brain damage that leads to Alzheimer's disease, a new US study has found.

Source-Eurekalert