Increased Levels of Neuregulin-1 Reduce Amyloid Plaques and Improve Memory in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer ' s Disease

Researchers have recently demonstrated that raised levels of neuroregulin-1 in parts of the brain can reduce the build up of amyloid plaque and improve measures of memory in a mouse lineage engineered to reproduce the features of Alzheimer's disease. This is one of a range of methods that have shown improvements of one kind or another in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, and so far most have not exhibited useful results in human studies, or otherwise failed to make it much further along the path to the clinic. The degree to which particular models steer research in a useful direction is a legitimate question: Alzheimer's research is a field in which a great deal of debate, theorizing, and second guessing takes place precisely because meaningful results have yet to emerge from many years of large-scale investment. Given the history it is entirely appropriate to take a wait and see approach to this sort of thing. The reason I point out this research rather than any other is because it involves neuregulin-1. If you wander the literature, or even just look back in the Fight Aging! archives, you'll find neuregulin-1 showing up in all sorts of interesting lines of research. Levels of neuregulin-1 are high in long-lived naked mole-rats and appear to vary by longevity in various rodent species. Increased neuregulin-1 in the heart has been shown to spur usually active regeneration, and bear in mind that the heart is an organ that normally regenerates poorly following damage...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs