Hi there,
I have no idea how to answer your questions. I had 2 close family members who had Alzheimer's Disease but my knowledge is very basic in this area except for my fear of actually getting it. :/
I just wanted to alert you to a couple of areas of information. One I just read in the Health News Forum here this morning and there are some more links on the Psych Central site as well. The news item I just read today was specificially related to Tau. Down on the bottom of the PsychCentral url, the 2nd one, you'll find more
Related Clinical Articles.
Quote:
Alzheimer?s Vaccine Effective
(Psych Central News) Researchers have proved for the first time that the immune system can combat the pathological form of tau protein, a key protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The protein accumulates into harmful tangles in the memory center of the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.Einar Sigurdsson Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pathology at New York University School [...]
Read the full article...
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http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ad.php?t=26477
http://psychcentral.com/news/2007/08...ine-effective/
Quote:
The disease is associated with neurons in the memory center of the brain becoming choked by the buildup of two types of proteins: tau, which turns destructive when it is prone to forming fibrous tangles, and amyloid beta. Compared to extracellular amyloid plaques, tau aggregates are confined inside of brain cells, making them more difficult to reach.
“It’s likely that there’s a synergism in the pathology,” said Dr. Sigurdsson. “Amyloid pathology may cause tau pathology and tau pathology might cause more amyloid pathology. What you have is a vicious cycle. If you can target both of these proteins you’ll likely have more efficacious treatment.”
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Quote:
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“In this animal model—and also in Alzheimer’s disease—there’s a breakdown of the blood brain barrier. In addition, it is well established that neurons have receptors that can bind to and promote uptake of antibodies and our studies seem to indicate that sick neurons that are accumulating tau aggregates take up more antibodies than healthy neurons. The antibodies then end up at the site where they can interact with pathological tau protein in the neuron, and promote its clearance.”
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