From Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic researchers discover new brain protein linked to Alzheimer's
By Brie Zeltner
January 20, 2014
CLEVELAND, Ohio— Cleveland Clinic researchers have identified a brain protein that may play a key role in the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
The discovery, part of a wider body of work in an area of brain research called microglia inflammation, has pointed to connections between diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s disease.
The brain protein, called Neuroligin-1 (NLGN1), has previously been associated with long-term memory formation, and when damaged is linked to cognitive diseases such as autism.
In current models of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers believe that sticky protein plaques, called amyloid beta, accumulate in the brain, overwhelming the brain’s natural defense and immune system—the microglia. When the microglia can’t clear out the protein plaques fast enough, they become inflamed.
When that happens, “it’s responsible for many disease processes like Alzheimer’s or other neuro-inflammatory conditions like neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, you name it,” said Dr. Mohamed Naguib, an anesthesiologist at the Clinic and senior author of the study.
Read more Cleveland Clinic >>
Cleveland Clinic researchers discover new brain protein linked to Alzheimer's
By Brie Zeltner
January 20, 2014
CLEVELAND, Ohio— Cleveland Clinic researchers have identified a brain protein that may play a key role in the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
The discovery, part of a wider body of work in an area of brain research called microglia inflammation, has pointed to connections between diseases such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, neuropathic pain and Parkinson’s disease.
The brain protein, called Neuroligin-1 (NLGN1), has previously been associated with long-term memory formation, and when damaged is linked to cognitive diseases such as autism.
In current models of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers believe that sticky protein plaques, called amyloid beta, accumulate in the brain, overwhelming the brain’s natural defense and immune system—the microglia. When the microglia can’t clear out the protein plaques fast enough, they become inflamed.
When that happens, “it’s responsible for many disease processes like Alzheimer’s or other neuro-inflammatory conditions like neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, you name it,” said Dr. Mohamed Naguib, an anesthesiologist at the Clinic and senior author of the study.
Read more Cleveland Clinic >>
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