All posts tagged: dementia research

Vehicle tire wear pollution linked to Alzheimer’s risk – impacting over 30 million people globally

Vehicle tire wear pollution linked to Alzheimer’s risk – impacting over 30 million people globally

Published by Jenni Sidey

Traffic leaves more behind than exhaust. Every mile also grinds away tiny bits of tire rubber, and when one common tire chemical meets ozone, it transforms into a pollutant called 6PPD-quinone. A new study suggests that substance may have troubling ties to Alzheimer’s disease. The research, published in Open Medicine, is the first to systematically test that connection using a broad computational approach. By combining network pharmacology, transcriptomics, machine learning, Mendelian randomization, and molecular docking, the authors traced how 6PPD-quinone might interact with genes and proteins involved in the disease. That matters because exposure does not appear to be rare. The compound has already been detected in water, soil, road dust, and human biological samples, suggesting that ordinary traffic pollution may be one route by which people come into contact with it. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world. The World Health Organization estimates that about 55 million people live with dementia globally, with Alzheimer’s accounting for 60 to 70 percent of cases. That total is projected to reach 139 million …

Nearly half of dementia cases can be prevented, study finds

Nearly half of dementia cases can be prevented, study finds

Published by Jenni Sidey

Memory loss is often treated like weather, something that arrives with age and cannot be stopped. But dementia does not fit that story. A growing body of research suggests many cases are tied to risks people can act on, yet a new international review finds that public health campaigns still struggle to turn that message into lasting change. The review, led by Curtin University researchers and published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, examined 12 population-level interventions across eight countries. Together, the studies point to a stubborn problem: broad awareness campaigns can reach large audiences, but they usually produce only small gains in knowledge and even smaller shifts in behavior. That matters because dementia is no small public health challenge. More than 57 million people worldwide live with the condition, and that total is expected to nearly triple by 2050. The Lancet Commission has estimated that about 45 percent of dementia cases may be linked to modifiable risk factors across the life course. Professor Mario Siervo, from Curtin’s School of Population Health, said the findings exposed …

ETH Zurich scientists developed a new drug to slow Alzheimer’s development

ETH Zurich scientists developed a new drug to slow Alzheimer’s development

Published by Jenni Sidey

Alzheimer’s disease slowly strips brain cells of the energy they need to survive. However, one damaged enzyme may be doing more of that work than anyone realized. At ETH Zurich, a team led by molecular pharmacologist Ursula Quitterer says it has identified a new protein target linked to the disease’s progression. They also designed an experimental compound that interrupts the process in mice. The compound, known as CPD10 or “compound 10,” did not cure the disease. Nevertheless, it slowed nerve-cell loss, reduced key signs of damage in the brain, and helped the animals live longer. The work points to a different way of thinking about Alzheimer’s treatment. This approach focuses less on clearing debris after damage has piled up. Instead, it aims to stabilize a protective system inside cells before the damage spirals. Graphical abstract of the study. The G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) exerts essential functions in cell growth and survival. (CREDIT: Cell Reports Medicine) When a protective enzyme turns harmful The central player is an enzyme called GRK2, a regulatory protein active in …

Columbia University researchers discover new clues to Alzheimer’s origins

Columbia University researchers discover new clues to Alzheimer’s origins

Published by Jenni Sidey

A fragile cleanup system sitting on the surface of brain cells may help explain one of Alzheimer’s disease’s oldest mysteries. It may reveal how ordinary tau protein first turns into the twisted filaments tied to memory loss and cognitive decline. That is the central finding from a Columbia University team that traced the earliest stages of tau damage to a neuron-specific protein disposal system called the neuroproteasome. When that system was disrupted, tau rapidly misfolded into paired helical filaments. This is the same broad kind of abnormal structure seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. The work points to a possible starting point for tau pathology. Additionally, it connects two of the disease’s biggest risk factors: aging and the APOE4 gene variant. “These prior studies could not capture how tau misfolds in the first place in Alzheimer’s disease but understanding how tau aggregation begins is critical if we want to create therapies that prevent neurodegeneration before it starts,” says the study’s senior author, Kapil Ramachandran, assistant professor of neurological sciences at Columbia University. …

The eyes may be a window into early Alzheimer’s detection, study finds

The eyes may be a window into early Alzheimer’s detection, study finds

Published by Jenni Sidey

Cells along the outer edge of the retina begin to swell and multiply before memory problems appear. That subtle shift, visible only under specialized imaging, may signal the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at Houston Methodist report that these peripheral eye changes emerge before major failures occur in the brain’s waste-removal system, suggesting the eye could reveal risk years earlier than current diagnostics. The study, led by biomedical engineer Stephen Wong, Ph.D., examined how retinal support cells behave during the first phase of disease development in mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s pathology. Findings appear online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. “The eyes are indeed a window into the brain, but our study reveals that we have been looking at the wrong part of the window,” Wong said. “While most clinical eye exams focus on the central retina, the most critical early indicators of AD appear to be hidden at the periphery of the eye.” Biomedical engineer Stephen Wong, Ph.D. (CREDIT: Houston Methodist) A different part of the eye draws attention Most eye …