Flowers for Alzheimer’s: Unlock the Mystery

In their quest for the key to unlock the mystery of Alzheimer’s, researchers are taking a closer look at tau. The hallmarks of Alzheimer’s are plaques of the protein beta amyloid and tangles of the protein tau.

Just exactly what causes the plaques and tangles are somewhat of a mystery, as is their exact role in the disease. Most research has been on ways to eliminate plaques, but a study at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, delved into the manner that the tau tangles spread in the brain.

Of course, this study was not done on humans—it was based on tau introduced into the frontal lobes of mice. The valuable insight from this study is that tau appears to spread like a virus, or cancer, jumping from neuron to neuron, across synapses, and spreading to other parts of the brain.

This discovery is a clue. According to Dr. Scott A. Small, co-author of the article published in   PLoS One , this discovery indicates that in the future early detection and treatment could be used to stop the spread of tau in the human brain. Small said, “It is during this early stage that the disease will be most amenable to treatment. That is the exciting clinical promise down the road.”