Compounds 'have potential' for Alzheimer's treatment

A select group of compounds that interact with a protein in the brain could be used in the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.

Carried out by staff at the Centre for Molecular Neurobiology at Ohio State University, the study indicates that such compounds interact in three ways with tau proteins.

It is noted that tau proteins bind to and stabilise structures in the brain which are essential for the organ to function normally. However, if and when such protein breaks away from these structures, it can result in the formation of strands called filaments.

The filaments can clump into tangles, markers of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

"It's important now to find compounds that can be used in imaging because the earlier clinicians can detect the disease, the better the chances are that a drug will halt disease progression while patients still have strong cognitive abilities," comments Nicolette Honson, a researcher at the academic institution.

Meanwhile, in other news that may be of interest to anti aging physicians, it was recently noted that a virus known to affect potatoes has a striking resemblance to a protein witnessed in the onset of Alzheimer's.