![Scientists Identify Process by Which Alzheimer`s Creeps Through the Brain Scientists Identify Process by Which Alzheimer`s Creeps Through the Brain](https://www.medindia.net/afp/images/US-health-memory-3216.jpg)
The findings may contribute to design of therapeutic interventions, as targeting the brain region where Alzheimer's disease originates might be simpler than targeting multiple brain areas.
An alteration in brain levels of amyloid _ proteins (A_) plays a major role in Alzheimer's disease, a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that causes progressive cognitive impairment and memory loss. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by abnormal accumulation of A_ in the brain, which leads to the formation of protein aggregates that are toxic to neurons. A_ peptides are generated when a large protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP) is cut up into smaller pieces.
One of the first brain regions affected in Alzheimer's disease is the entorhinal cortex (EC). Connections between the EC and another brain region called hippocampus are critical for memory, and disruption of this circuit may play a role in memory impairment in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease.
"It is not clear how EC dysfunction contributes to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease or whether early vulnerability of the EC initiates the spread of dysfunction through interconnected neural networks," explained senior study author and GIND director Lennart Mucke, MD. "To address these questions, we studied transgenic mice with mutant APP expressed primarily in neurons of the EC."
The majority of current mouse models of Alzheimer's disease express mutant proteins throughout the brain, making it difficult to identify the role of any specific brain region in Alzheimer's disease-related dysfunction.
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"Our findings directly support the hypothesis that Alzheimer's disease-related dysfunction is propagated through networks of neurons, with the EC as an important hub region of early vulnerability," concluded Dr. Julie Harris, the lead author of the study.
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The study has been published in the November 4th issue of the journal Neuron.
Source-ANI