Alzheimer ' s Disease has the Look of a Condition Built of Multiple Causes

As a companion piece to the news of amyloid clearance in Alzheimer's patients from earlier this week, in which the outcome was not enough of an improvement to suggest that amyloid accumulation is the only issue, this article looks at a range of recent evidence for Alzheimer's disease to be a condition with multiple significant causes, some of which may be fairly independent of one another. When pursuing an elusive beast, hunters look for the traces it leaves behind as clues to its whereabouts. Geneticists are employing a similar method to hunt variants linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD), with changes in the brain representing the variants' traces. By correlating biomarker changes with genetic factors, researchers gain clues to the mechanism of action of these genes. A common theme emerged when various groups reported finding distinct sets of factors that influenced amyloidosis versus tau degeneration. The findings imply that these processes have different underlying causes. Other research homed in on specific genes involved in atrophy, in some cases analyzing known AD genes for associations. To many researchers, the data reinforce that to prevent the progression of AD it will be important to treat not only factors that affect amyloid, but also those that affect neurodegeneration. Previous data have long identified a disconnect between amyloid and atrophy. The regions affected by each form distinct, though overlapping, patterns in the brain. In addition, many o...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs