plaque news from FierceBioResearcher

Scientists at Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation are reporting success in advancing an experimental, preclinical vaccine that can prevent or slow Alzheimer's. The researchers, led by Dr. Jordan Read more...

A class of widely used anesthetics spurs production of beta amyloid in the brains of mice, according to a study completed at the University of Pennsylvania. Researchers studied halothane, one in a class of volatile anesthetics used on 60 million people a year. A common side effect of these anesthetics is 'post-operative cognitive decline' that can last from days to years. If the drugs also promote beta amyloid in the brains of humans, it could provide a direct link to Alzheimer's. While …

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New research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests that commonly used therapies for high blood pressure may help prevent the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's. Working with animals engineered to produce beta-amyloid, a plaque in the brain that builds up as Alzheimer's develops, researchers injected a series of drugs to see what kind of effect could be achieved. Seven of the drugs that demonstrated an ability to prevent the build-up of beta-amyloid were for high blood …

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Researchers have identified an enzyme that could play a key therapeutic role in preventing Alzheimer's. The scientists at Washington University School of Medicine developed mice that couldn't produce the enzyme MMP-9 and found that amyloid beta (Abeta) plaques built up in the space between neurons. That plaque has long been linked with Alzheimer's. Their work was built around the observation that brain support cells close to …

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The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, may help prevent the formation of deposits in the brain which are linked to Alzheimer's. Scientists at Scripps Research Institute concluded that THC does a better job than commercial drugs at preventing the enzyme acetylcholinesterase from forming plaques that occur with Alzheimer's. While controversial, marijuana has a number of medical uses, including relieving glaucoma and pain along with the side effects of …

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Focusing on the role of an enzyme known as presenilin, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas say they have identified a second function that may play a big role in the development of Alzheimer's. Presenilins are already well known for cleaving amyloid precursor proteins to create amyloid ß-peptides that form plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. Mutant presenilins present in 40 percent of familial cases of Alzheimer's also …

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