05/11/2010 Alzheimer's disease in its course, at least to that is Prof. Dr. Thomas Bayer and Dr. Oliver Wirths, Alzheimer's researcher in the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Medicine Göttingen, succeeded in mice. Their Research results are based on a passive "vaccine" against Alzheimer's. As a drug they are using a newly developed antibodies. What is new in the approach: the antibody of the Göttingen scientists aimed not just at the typical Alzheimer's protein deposits in the brain, known as "plaques". Target is rather a special molecular structure that forms the protein "pyroglutamate Abeta. This protein have identified the researchers in Göttingen as the real culprits. With a specific antibody to this protein can be stopped early on its destructive force. The latest research results with a mouse model for Alzheimer's disease promise a successful new treatment approach. The research results were issued on 22 October 2010 Published in: Wirths et al. (2010) Journal of Biological Chemistry online
Previous treatment strategies are aimed primarily at the so-called plaques. This typical Alzheimer's protein deposits formed outside the neurons. The significance of the plaques of the disease process is still controversial among experts. Famous example is the American nuns become study. The more than 600 nuns have been regularly tested neuro-psychologically. Some of them also developed Alzheimer's. Surprisingly, however, that a lot of "plaques" in brains of Nuns were, their perception and learning skills were completely normal and had no signs of Alzheimer's disease. "We believe that plaques are a form of trash for the toxic Abeta protein. One would indeed fight against the emergence, but if they already exist, it can be therapeutically useful to them alone," says Prof. Bayer. "Exactly where our antibody.
In previous studies, the researchers had Alzheimer Göttingen demonstrated in various animal models that cause contrary to previous assumptions, the plaques to the death of nerve cells. They found evidence that the destructive cascade much earlier and in the interior of the Nerve cell is being started. In the post
now study the researchers derived in a trial of Prof. Thomas Bayer international consortium of colleagues from Synaptic Systems (Göttingen) and scientists from Amsterdam, Berlin, Bonn, Helsinki and Uppsala, a completely new structure of the pyroglutamate Abeta peptide discovered and developed contrast-specific antibodies. "These antibodies are the first to identify a soluble, more toxic Abeta variant. Unlike the previous antibodies, which were used for immunizations bind, they are not especially to plaques," says Prof. Bayer.
The newly developed antibodies particularly toxic clumps of pyroglutamate Abeta recognize so-called "oligomers". These oligomers accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer patients, there mainly in nerve cells and blood vessels. This will likely damage the blood vessels. The result is that the oligomers can not flow away from the brain. "We can see that the levels of oligomers in the blood of healthy individuals is high. In Alzheimer's patients have only low levels of oligomers found in the blood, but they are in the brain but much higher," says. Dr. Oliver Wirth: "This suited these antibodies as potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's in the blood and brain."
could In the current study demonstrate the Göttingen scientists for the first time that passive immunization with an oligomer-specific antibody, the plaques do not recognize, was successful. In animal models, the antibody was therapeutically effective and stabilized the learning behavior. The passive immunization, antibodies bind fed the toxic oligomers and make them harmless. "With this form of passive immunization, we can probably achieve no cure, but our research shows that the antibodies appeared to stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease," says Prof. Bayer.
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