Psychiatric care may
be improved in the future after new research found that Alzheimer's disease can spread in the brain by 'jumping' from one region to another.
The scientific report from Columbia University Medical Centre (CUMC) revealed
abnormal TAU proteins present in the synapses and neurons of the Alzheimer's
patients can propagate along linked brain circuits.
"Earlier research, including functional MRI studies in humans, has also
supported this pattern of spread," said study co-author Scott Small,
professor of neurology in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's
Disease and the Aging Brain at CUMC.
However, this new study pinpointed the extract region in the brain the abnormal
protein is formed and doctors observed how it crosses brain synapses.
Scientists explained that new treatments could now be developed to target TAU
as it moves from neuron to neuron.
According to the Alzheimer's Society, the condition is just one of over 100
types of dementia.
© Adfero Ltd
Alzheimer's treatment news : 6 February 2012
