Sugar-Studded Protein is Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease

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28-05-2022, 22:00

INA - SOURCES

In a bit of “reverse engineering” research using brain tissues from five people who died with Alzheimer’s disease, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they discovered that a special sugar molecule could play a key role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

If further research confirms the finding, the molecule, known as a glycan, could serve as a new target for early diagnostic tests, treatments, and perhaps prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, say the researchers.

The study was published online April 20 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia in the United States. Affecting an estimated 5.8 million Americans, the progressive disorder occurs when nerve cells in the brain die due to the buildup of harmful forms of proteins called amyloid and tau.

Cleaning up the disease-causing forms of amyloid and tau is the job of the brain’s immune cells, called microglia. Earlier studies found that when cleanup is impaired, Alzheimer’s disease is more likely to occur. In some people, this is caused by an overabundance of a receptor on the microglia cells, called CD33.