Alzheimer’s Findings Seen as a Possible New Window to Understanding the Disease

Scientists at the Mayo Clinic have discovered a possible new link between an abnormal protein in the brain and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, a breakthrough that could open new avenues to understanding the disease and finding effective treatments.

Abnormal forms of the protein, which assists DNA in coding and building new proteins inside the cell, appear to increase the atrophy of regions of the brain important to memory. And it could be a trigger of some kind, perhaps independently initiating the onset of Alzheimer’s-related dementia when combined with two other proteins whose abnormalities have long been implicated in the disease.

These findings, and more, were presented during the recently concluded six-day Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, AAIC, in Copenhagen.

AAIC is the world’s largest conference of its kind, bringing together researchers from around the world to report and discuss groundbreaking research and information on the cause, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.

To read more about the Mayo Clinic discovery, click here.

To see all the 2014 AAIC video highlights, click here.