Molecular 'Piggyback Ride' Carries Alzheimer’s Protein Into Brain [potential breakthrough]

University of Rochester Medical Center ^ | 6/24/2003

[TheDon]

So much for PETA and the "anti-animal testing" crowd.

[gcruse]

May be Big News, Brzezinski.

[dozer7]

"willing to take a chance on something with long term effects."

With my Mother she and I would have have accepted long term effects. Youth is not in question. We are not talking about a youthful affliction. Please.

regards

[B.Bumbleberry]

I don't know the statistics to tell whether there is more or less of a problem. Here is my explanation of why we're hearing more about it now than in the past.

Years ago a lot of people, my grandmother included, were simply termed "senile" or suffering from "dementia." In my view these were terms descriptive of the symptoms and not differentiating the disease by root cause, like the term "consumption" was used hundreds of years ago to describe all sorts of lung diseases that weren't understood such as pneumonia, asthma, tuberculosis etc.

Alzheimer's has become better understood due to the discovery of protein plaques in brains of patients suffering from this disease. But since Alzheimer's can't be determined for certain until after death, and since it never is definitely determined for most elderly sufferers because an autopsy is expensive and pointless, a lot of "dementia" is probably being called Alzheimer's now, when it may be something else that isn't well understood. And thus, progress inches along in fits and starts.

[cajungirl]

You misunderstood,,I was replying to someone upthread who mentioned being concerned about long term side effects. What I said was this wasn't a prpoblem given the condition.

[dozer7]

"You misunderstood,,I was replying to someone upthread who mentioned being concerned about long term side effects. What I said was this wasn't a problem given the condition"

Reviewed this you are correct. I will try to be more careful. As with all of replys they are personal and confused. Great forum, adjusting here. Should I do anything else?

best reagrds

[aruanan]

It appears so from a lay perspective. Wonder what the "anti-RAGE" and "soluable RAGE" chemicals consisted of.

RAGE isn't a chemical. It's a receptor. As such, it binds to certain ligands. Some receptors are also transporters. Apparently RAGE facilitates the transfer of certain glycosylated proteins across the blood/brain barrier. The endogenous RAGE is found anchored in the cell membrane of cells composing the blood vessel. In this experiment, the soluble form of RAGE lacked the sequences necessary to anchor it, so it was free to circulate in the blood. Its ability to bind the amyloid-beta proteins, though, was not impaired by the loss of the parts that kept it in place in the cells where it is normally expressed. RAGE is also being studied in connection with diseases related to diabetes. This news is really big. If the protein is such that it could be produced by recombinant means as is insulin, then it could be a powerful treatment, though not cure, for Alzheimers. Three cheers for animal experimentation!

[aruanan]

I guess I'll post my credentials, too: Ph.D. in (mostly molecular/cell) Biology, currently doing a post-doc fellowship in neurobio/pharm/phys working on muscle nictotinic acid receptors.

[cajungirl]

Not to worry, no offense taken. I just didn't want you to be offended by me!!!