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Apr 24, 2019

Scientists propose new theory on Alzheimer’s, amyloid connection

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, neuroscience

Worldwide, 50 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, every 65 seconds someone in the United States develops this disease, which causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior.

It has been more than 100 years since Alois Alzheimer, M.D., a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, first reported the presence of senile plaques in an Alzheimer’s patient brain. It led to the discovery of that produces deposits or plaques of fragments in the brain, the suspected culprit of Alzheimer’s disease. Since then, amyloid has been extensively studied because of its association with Alzheimer’s disease. However, amyloid precursor protein distribution within and on neurons and its function in these cells remain unclear.

A team of neuroscientists led by Florida Atlantic University’s Brain Institute sought to answer a fundamental question in their quest to combat Alzheimer’s disease—” Is amyloid precursor protein the mastermind behind Alzheimer’s disease or is it just an accomplice?”

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