Source: HealthDay News
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
HealthDay News reports researchers have used adult muscle stem cells to successfully treat muscular dystrophy in mice:
"Researchers are reporting that they've managed to repair damaged muscle in mice with a form of muscular dystrophy by injecting them with specialized stem cells from skeletal muscle. There's no guarantee that the treatment will translate to humans with the disease, said study author Amy Wagers, an assistant professor in Harvard University's Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department. Still, the findings are going to help scientists 'move forward very quickly with human stem cells,' she said. 'It is an important step.' In the new study, Wagers and her colleagues turned to purified stem cells that create muscle. The cells came from healthy adult mice and were injected into mice with a disease that scientists consider to be the equivalent to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The findings were published in the July 11 issue of Cell."
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Muscle stem cell advance hailed
Source: BBC News
Published: 2008/07/10 23:24:53 GMT
Summary:
BBC News reports Harvard University researchers improved muscle strength and function in mice with muscular dystrophy by injected them with adult muscle stem cells:
"Transplanting adult stem cells into mice with an illness like muscular dystrophy (MD) helped rebuild muscle structure and strength, a study says. The work by Harvard University, published in the journal Cell, boosts the prospect of similar treatments for people with the condition one day."
Published: 2008/07/10 23:24:53 GMT
Summary:
BBC News reports Harvard University researchers improved muscle strength and function in mice with muscular dystrophy by injected them with adult muscle stem cells:
"Transplanting adult stem cells into mice with an illness like muscular dystrophy (MD) helped rebuild muscle structure and strength, a study says. The work by Harvard University, published in the journal Cell, boosts the prospect of similar treatments for people with the condition one day."
Cancer drug shows promise against graft vs. host disease
Source: University of Michigan
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
A new University of Michigan study in mice suggests that a drug recently approved to fight cancer tumors is also able to reduce the effects of graft-versus-host disease, a common and sometimes fatal complication for people who have had bone marrow transplants. Plans are under way at U-M for an initial trial of the drug in people as a new way to prevent graft-versus-host disease. Researchers expect to begin a trial within a year.
The U-M scientists tested the effects of the drug SAHA, as well as another member of a group of drugs known as HDAC inhibitors, on key immune system cells called dendritic cells. In mice, both drugs were able to significantly diminish the destructive inflammatory effects that these cells cause in graft-versus-host disease. Graft-versus-host disease occurs when immune cells in the transplanted bone marrow mount a misguided attack on body tissues. If HDAC inhibitors turn out to be safe and effective in people, they might offer a treatment option preferable to the immunosuppressant drugs used now to treat the disease. These leave people vulnerable to infection and have other significant side effects.
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
A new University of Michigan study in mice suggests that a drug recently approved to fight cancer tumors is also able to reduce the effects of graft-versus-host disease, a common and sometimes fatal complication for people who have had bone marrow transplants. Plans are under way at U-M for an initial trial of the drug in people as a new way to prevent graft-versus-host disease. Researchers expect to begin a trial within a year.
The U-M scientists tested the effects of the drug SAHA, as well as another member of a group of drugs known as HDAC inhibitors, on key immune system cells called dendritic cells. In mice, both drugs were able to significantly diminish the destructive inflammatory effects that these cells cause in graft-versus-host disease. Graft-versus-host disease occurs when immune cells in the transplanted bone marrow mount a misguided attack on body tissues. If HDAC inhibitors turn out to be safe and effective in people, they might offer a treatment option preferable to the immunosuppressant drugs used now to treat the disease. These leave people vulnerable to infection and have other significant side effects.
Umbilical Cord Stem Cells Transport Anti-Cancer Drugs Directly to Tumors
Source: Kansas State University
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
Kansas State University researchers are working on a method of delivering cancer drugs that promises to be more efficient and reduce the side effects. The researchers are using stem cells isolated from Wharton's jelly, the substance that cushions blood vessels in the umbilical cord. These types of stem cells can be harvested noninvasively and therefore are not controversial. Deryl Troyer, professor of anatomy and physiology at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, said the stem cells display a sort of homing ability in that they tend to travel to tumors and other pathological lesions. The researchers are using these stem cells as delivery systems by loading the cells with nanoparticles that contain anti-cancer drugs.
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
Kansas State University researchers are working on a method of delivering cancer drugs that promises to be more efficient and reduce the side effects. The researchers are using stem cells isolated from Wharton's jelly, the substance that cushions blood vessels in the umbilical cord. These types of stem cells can be harvested noninvasively and therefore are not controversial. Deryl Troyer, professor of anatomy and physiology at K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine, said the stem cells display a sort of homing ability in that they tend to travel to tumors and other pathological lesions. The researchers are using these stem cells as delivery systems by loading the cells with nanoparticles that contain anti-cancer drugs.
Genes that control embryonic stem cell fate identified
Source: University of California - San Francisco
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
Scientists have identified about two dozen genes that control embryonic stem cell fate. The genes may either prod or restrain stem cells from drifting into a kind of limbo, they suspect. The limbo lies between the embryonic stage and fully differentiated, or specialized, cells, such as bone, muscle or fat. By knowing the genes and proteins that control a cell's progress toward the differentiated form, researchers may be able to accelerate the process – a potential boon for the use of stem cells in therapy or the study of some degenerative diseases, the scientists say. Their finding comes from the first large-scale search for genes crucial to embryonic stem cells. The research was carried out by a team at the University of California, San Francisco and is reported in a paper in the July 11, 2008 issue of Cell.
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
Scientists have identified about two dozen genes that control embryonic stem cell fate. The genes may either prod or restrain stem cells from drifting into a kind of limbo, they suspect. The limbo lies between the embryonic stage and fully differentiated, or specialized, cells, such as bone, muscle or fat. By knowing the genes and proteins that control a cell's progress toward the differentiated form, researchers may be able to accelerate the process – a potential boon for the use of stem cells in therapy or the study of some degenerative diseases, the scientists say. Their finding comes from the first large-scale search for genes crucial to embryonic stem cells. The research was carried out by a team at the University of California, San Francisco and is reported in a paper in the July 11, 2008 issue of Cell.
Muscle Stem Cell Transplant Boosts Diseased Muscle Function and Replenishes Stem Cell Pool
Source: Joslin Diabetes Center
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have demonstrated for the first time that transplanted muscle stem cells can both improve muscle function in animals with a form of muscular dystrophy and replenish the stem cell population for use in the repair of future muscle injuries. The study was designed to test the concept that skeletal muscle precursor cells could function as adult stem cells and that transplantation of these cells could both repair muscle tissue and regenerate the stem cell pool in a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The research is published in the July 11 issue of Cell. The data from this new study demonstrate that regenerative muscle stem cells can be distinguished from other cells in the muscle by unique protein markers present on their surfaces. The authors used these markers to select stem cells from normal adult muscle and transferred the cells to diseased muscle of mice carrying a mutation in the same gene affected in human Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Date: July 10, 2008
Summary:
Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center have demonstrated for the first time that transplanted muscle stem cells can both improve muscle function in animals with a form of muscular dystrophy and replenish the stem cell population for use in the repair of future muscle injuries. The study was designed to test the concept that skeletal muscle precursor cells could function as adult stem cells and that transplantation of these cells could both repair muscle tissue and regenerate the stem cell pool in a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The research is published in the July 11 issue of Cell. The data from this new study demonstrate that regenerative muscle stem cells can be distinguished from other cells in the muscle by unique protein markers present on their surfaces. The authors used these markers to select stem cells from normal adult muscle and transferred the cells to diseased muscle of mice carrying a mutation in the same gene affected in human Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
New Technique Harvests Stem Cells at Earlier Stage
Source: HealthDay News
Date: July 9, 2008
Summary:
HealthDay News reports scientists have found a way to obtain embryonic stem cells in blastomere stage of embryonic development without destroying the embryo, a finding that could end the ethical controversy surrounding the field of embryonic stem cell research:
"Scientists say they have finally succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cells earlier in the development stage of a blastomere, or a 4-cell stage embryo, so the whole embryo is not destroyed. The development, expected to be presented Wednesday at the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology annual conference in Barcelona, may make stem cell research easier to conduct by not raising as many ethical concerns, the researchers added."
Date: July 9, 2008
Summary:
HealthDay News reports scientists have found a way to obtain embryonic stem cells in blastomere stage of embryonic development without destroying the embryo, a finding that could end the ethical controversy surrounding the field of embryonic stem cell research:
"Scientists say they have finally succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cells earlier in the development stage of a blastomere, or a 4-cell stage embryo, so the whole embryo is not destroyed. The development, expected to be presented Wednesday at the European Society of Human Reproduction & Embryology annual conference in Barcelona, may make stem cell research easier to conduct by not raising as many ethical concerns, the researchers added."
Herceptin targets breast cancer stem cells
Source: University of Michigan
Date: July 9, 2008
Summary:
A gene that is overexpressed in 20 percent of breast cancers increases the number of cancer stem cells, the cells that fuel a tumor's growth and spread, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The gene, HER2, causes cancer stem cells to multiply and spread, explaining why HER2 has been linked to a more aggressive type of breast cancer and to metastatic disease, in which the cancer has spread beyond the breast, the researchers say. Further, the drug Herceptin, which is used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer, was found to target and destroy the cancer stem cells. Results of the study appear online in the journal Oncogene.
Date: July 9, 2008
Summary:
A gene that is overexpressed in 20 percent of breast cancers increases the number of cancer stem cells, the cells that fuel a tumor's growth and spread, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The gene, HER2, causes cancer stem cells to multiply and spread, explaining why HER2 has been linked to a more aggressive type of breast cancer and to metastatic disease, in which the cancer has spread beyond the breast, the researchers say. Further, the drug Herceptin, which is used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer, was found to target and destroy the cancer stem cells. Results of the study appear online in the journal Oncogene.
Human Embryonic Stem Cells Developed From 4-cell Embryo; World First May Lessen Ethical Concerns
Source: European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology
Date: July 9, 2008
Summary:
For the first time in the world scientists have succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) from a single cell, or blastomere, of a 4-cell stage embryo, the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard on July 9. Dr. Hilde Van de Velde, from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium, said that their research meant that it might be possible in the future to produce hESC lines at an earlier stage without destroying the embryo.
Date: July 9, 2008
Summary:
For the first time in the world scientists have succeeded in developing human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) from a single cell, or blastomere, of a 4-cell stage embryo, the 24th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard on July 9. Dr. Hilde Van de Velde, from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium, said that their research meant that it might be possible in the future to produce hESC lines at an earlier stage without destroying the embryo.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Study Will See If Patients' Own Stem Cells Can Help Prevent Leg Loss
Source: University of Utah Health Sciences
Date: July 8, 2008
Summary:
People with a form of peripheral vascular disease so severe that it can lead to leg amputations might be able to use their own stem cells to remedy the problem. The University of Utah recently was selected as a site in a nationwide trial of the experimental treatment and U of U medical researchers are looking for participants with critical limb ischemia, a severe obstruction of the arteries that feed blood to the legs, according to Larry W. Kraiss, M.D., professor and chief of vascular surgery at the School of Medicine and lead Utah investigator in the trial. To be eligible for the trial, participants must have exhausted all other treatment options, he said.
Date: July 8, 2008
Summary:
People with a form of peripheral vascular disease so severe that it can lead to leg amputations might be able to use their own stem cells to remedy the problem. The University of Utah recently was selected as a site in a nationwide trial of the experimental treatment and U of U medical researchers are looking for participants with critical limb ischemia, a severe obstruction of the arteries that feed blood to the legs, according to Larry W. Kraiss, M.D., professor and chief of vascular surgery at the School of Medicine and lead Utah investigator in the trial. To be eligible for the trial, participants must have exhausted all other treatment options, he said.
Researchers Map Cells' Inner Landscapes
Source: Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Date: July 8, 2008
Summary:
Much of the field of stem cell biology and development remains uncharted territory. Just as famous explorers and astronomers mapped out landmasses and constellations, researchers are working fervently to chart the molecular landscapes within stem cells -- especially embryonic stem cells. A clearer understanding of the cells’ unique properties, particularly their ability to give rise to nearly any type of cell, could unlock fundamental questions about biology and may even spur novel ways to treat disease. A team of researchers at the Broad Institute has helped break new ground in stem cell research through work described in two recent Nature papers. The most recently published study, appearing in the July 6 advance online issue, involves an effort to map regions of cells’ genomes marked by DNA methylation — one of several so-called ‘epigenetic’ modifications.
Date: July 8, 2008
Summary:
Much of the field of stem cell biology and development remains uncharted territory. Just as famous explorers and astronomers mapped out landmasses and constellations, researchers are working fervently to chart the molecular landscapes within stem cells -- especially embryonic stem cells. A clearer understanding of the cells’ unique properties, particularly their ability to give rise to nearly any type of cell, could unlock fundamental questions about biology and may even spur novel ways to treat disease. A team of researchers at the Broad Institute has helped break new ground in stem cell research through work described in two recent Nature papers. The most recently published study, appearing in the July 6 advance online issue, involves an effort to map regions of cells’ genomes marked by DNA methylation — one of several so-called ‘epigenetic’ modifications.
Monday, July 07, 2008
BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics and Rutgers University Study Shows That Transplanting NTF Cells Improves the Recovery of Spinal Cord Injury Rat Model
Source: BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc.
Date: July 7, 2008
Summary:
In an official company news release, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of adult stem cell research, announced the completion of a preclinical study to treat spinal cord injuries in animals using adult neural stem cells:
" BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, has completed a preclinical study in collaboration with the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The study conducted at the Keck Center was an effort to repair spinal cord injuries in animals through the transplantation of Brainstorm’s neurotrophic factor (NTF) adult stem cells. The results showed a positive trend of the NTF cells in the male animals."
Date: July 7, 2008
Summary:
In an official company news release, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company in the field of adult stem cell research, announced the completion of a preclinical study to treat spinal cord injuries in animals using adult neural stem cells:
" BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, has completed a preclinical study in collaboration with the W.M. Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The study conducted at the Keck Center was an effort to repair spinal cord injuries in animals through the transplantation of Brainstorm’s neurotrophic factor (NTF) adult stem cells. The results showed a positive trend of the NTF cells in the male animals."
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Statins Have Unexpected Effect on Pool of Powerful Brain Cells
Source: University of Rochester Medical Center
Date: July 3, 2008
Summary:
Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia. Neuroscientists found that statins, one of the most widely prescribed classes of medication ever used, have an unexpected effect on brain cells. Researchers looked at the effects of statins on glial progenitor cells, which help the brain stay healthy by serving as a crucial reservoir of cells that the brain can customize depending on its needs. The team found that the compounds spur the cells, which are very similar to stem cells, to shed their flexibility and become one particular type of cell.
Date: July 3, 2008
Summary:
Cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins have a profound effect on an elite group of cells important to brain health as we age, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found. The new findings shed light on a long-debated potential role for statins in the area of dementia. Neuroscientists found that statins, one of the most widely prescribed classes of medication ever used, have an unexpected effect on brain cells. Researchers looked at the effects of statins on glial progenitor cells, which help the brain stay healthy by serving as a crucial reservoir of cells that the brain can customize depending on its needs. The team found that the compounds spur the cells, which are very similar to stem cells, to shed their flexibility and become one particular type of cell.
Bone Marrow Alternative: Stem Cells From Umbilical Cord May Be Used To Treat Hepatic Diseases
Source: Universidad de Granada
Date: July 3, 2008
Summary:
Researchers from the Universities of Granada and Leon have shown that mononuclear blood cells from human umbilical cord can be an effective alternative to bone marrow. This work, to be published in the journal Cell Transplantation, could potentially mean a great advance in regenerative hepatic medicine.
Date: July 3, 2008
Summary:
Researchers from the Universities of Granada and Leon have shown that mononuclear blood cells from human umbilical cord can be an effective alternative to bone marrow. This work, to be published in the journal Cell Transplantation, could potentially mean a great advance in regenerative hepatic medicine.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Gene directs stem cells to build the heart
Source: Washington University School of Medicine
Date: July 2, 2008
Summary:
Researchers have shown that they can put mouse embryonic stem cells to work building the heart, potentially moving medical science a significant step closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report in Cell Stem Cell that the Mesp1 gene locks mouse embryonic stem cells into becoming heart parts and gets them moving to the area where the heart forms. Researchers are now testing if stem cells exposed to Mesp1 can help fix damaged mouse hearts.
Date: July 2, 2008
Summary:
Researchers have shown that they can put mouse embryonic stem cells to work building the heart, potentially moving medical science a significant step closer to a new generation of heart disease treatments that use human stem cells. Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report in Cell Stem Cell that the Mesp1 gene locks mouse embryonic stem cells into becoming heart parts and gets them moving to the area where the heart forms. Researchers are now testing if stem cells exposed to Mesp1 can help fix damaged mouse hearts.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Small protein may have big role in making more bone and less fat
Source: Medical College of Georgia
Date: July 1, 2008
Summary:
A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, researchers say. "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. He's found the short-acting protein GILZ appears to make this desirable shift and wants to better understand how it does it with the long-term goal of targeted therapies for osteoporosis, obesity and maybe more.
Date: July 1, 2008
Summary:
A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, researchers say. "The pathways are parallel, and the idea is if you can somehow disrupt the fat production pathway, you will get more bone," says Dr. Xingming Shi, bone biologist at the Medical College of Georgia Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics. He's found the short-acting protein GILZ appears to make this desirable shift and wants to better understand how it does it with the long-term goal of targeted therapies for osteoporosis, obesity and maybe more.
New technique produces genetically identical stem cells
Source: Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Date: July 1, 2008
Summary:
Adult cells of mice created from genetically reprogrammed cells—so-called induced pluripotent stem (IPS) stem cells—can be triggered via drug to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the need for further genetic alteration. The discovery, which promises to bring new efficiencies to embryonic stem cell research, is reported in the July 1, 2008, online issue of Nature Biotechnology.
The authors explain the scientific implications of this finding:
"This technical advancement will allow thousands of identical reprogrammed cells to be used in experiments," says Marius Wernig, one of the paper's two lead authors and a postdoctoral researcher in Whitehead Member Rudolf Jaenisch's lab.
The study also points out potential therapeutic applications of this research:
"Using these cells could help define the milestones of how cells are reprogrammed and screen for drug-like molecules that replace the potentially cancer-causing viruses used for reprogramming," adds Christopher Lengner, the other lead author and also a postdoctoral researcher in the Jaenisch's lab.
Date: July 1, 2008
Summary:
Adult cells of mice created from genetically reprogrammed cells—so-called induced pluripotent stem (IPS) stem cells—can be triggered via drug to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state, without the need for further genetic alteration. The discovery, which promises to bring new efficiencies to embryonic stem cell research, is reported in the July 1, 2008, online issue of Nature Biotechnology.
The authors explain the scientific implications of this finding:
"This technical advancement will allow thousands of identical reprogrammed cells to be used in experiments," says Marius Wernig, one of the paper's two lead authors and a postdoctoral researcher in Whitehead Member Rudolf Jaenisch's lab.
The study also points out potential therapeutic applications of this research:
"Using these cells could help define the milestones of how cells are reprogrammed and screen for drug-like molecules that replace the potentially cancer-causing viruses used for reprogramming," adds Christopher Lengner, the other lead author and also a postdoctoral researcher in the Jaenisch's lab.
Reprogramming Adult Stem Cells in the Brain
Source: Salk Institute
Date: July 1, 2008
Summary:
In recent years, stem cell researchers have become very adept at manipulating the fate of adult stem cells cultured in the lab. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies achieved the same feat with adult neural stem cells still in place in the brain. They successfully coaxed mouse brain stem cells bound to join the neuronal network to differentiate into support cells instead. The discovery, which is published ahead of print on Nature Neuroscience's website, not only attests to the versatility of neural stem cells but also opens up new directions for the treatment of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and epilepsy that not only affect neuronal cells but also disrupt the functioning of glial support cells.
Date: July 1, 2008
Summary:
In recent years, stem cell researchers have become very adept at manipulating the fate of adult stem cells cultured in the lab. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies achieved the same feat with adult neural stem cells still in place in the brain. They successfully coaxed mouse brain stem cells bound to join the neuronal network to differentiate into support cells instead. The discovery, which is published ahead of print on Nature Neuroscience's website, not only attests to the versatility of neural stem cells but also opens up new directions for the treatment of neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and epilepsy that not only affect neuronal cells but also disrupt the functioning of glial support cells.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Researchers Link Early Stem Cell Mutation to Autism
Source: Burnham Institute for Medical Research
Date: june 30, 2008
Summary:
In a breakthrough scientific study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have shown that neural stem cell development may be linked to Autism. The study demonstrated that mice lacking the myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C) protein in neural stem cells had smaller brains, fewer nerve cells and showed behaviors similar to those seen in humans with a form of autism known as Rett Syndrome. This work represents the first direct link between a developmental disorder of neural stem cells and the subsequent onset of autism.
Date: june 30, 2008
Summary:
In a breakthrough scientific study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have shown that neural stem cell development may be linked to Autism. The study demonstrated that mice lacking the myocyte enhancer factor 2C (MEF2C) protein in neural stem cells had smaller brains, fewer nerve cells and showed behaviors similar to those seen in humans with a form of autism known as Rett Syndrome. This work represents the first direct link between a developmental disorder of neural stem cells and the subsequent onset of autism.
Study identifies toxic key to Alzheimer’s disease memory loss
Source: University College Dublin
Date: June 30, 2008
Summary:
Using new scientific techniques, scientists have unlocked the cascade of molecular events that lead to Alzheimer’s disease. The scientific findings published in the latest edition of Nature Medicine suggest a potential new target for the development of drug therapies to fight the irreversible and degenerative disease. The team of Irish and international researchers have identified that the accumulation of a particular protein (called amyloid ß-protein - Aß) in the brain initiates Alzheimer’s disease and that it directly alters the structure and function of brain cells. The findings place a significant emphasis on the development of new therapeutic strategies targeted at the reduction of the formation of Aß as opposed to the reduction of the plaque burden associated with the disease.
Date: June 30, 2008
Summary:
Using new scientific techniques, scientists have unlocked the cascade of molecular events that lead to Alzheimer’s disease. The scientific findings published in the latest edition of Nature Medicine suggest a potential new target for the development of drug therapies to fight the irreversible and degenerative disease. The team of Irish and international researchers have identified that the accumulation of a particular protein (called amyloid ß-protein - Aß) in the brain initiates Alzheimer’s disease and that it directly alters the structure and function of brain cells. The findings place a significant emphasis on the development of new therapeutic strategies targeted at the reduction of the formation of Aß as opposed to the reduction of the plaque burden associated with the disease.
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