Evidence for Tau Accumulation and Failing Cerebrospinal Fluid Clearance to be the Starting Point for Alzheimer ' s Disease

Alzheimer's disease might be considered as the consequence of the related, interacting buildup of two primary forms of metabolic waste in the brain, tau and amyloid-β. Either, independently, can cause neurodegeneration, but they have a complicated relationship with one another in which the presence of both makes the pathology worse. Which comes first? There is evidence to suggest that amyloid aggregation leads to tau aggregation, and there is also evidence for things to be the other way around, such as that presented in the research materials here. Both of these options could be the case, in that either tau or amyloid-β produces disruption that can accelerate aggregation of the other. Or it may be that a third mechanism, such as loss of effective drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, causes aggregation of both, and interactions between the two are less important to the amount present and more important to the damage done. Alzheimer's is a very complex area of study. Until therapies start to make some inroads into improving the condition, thereby quantifying some of the mechanisms and their effects, it is likely that greater understanding of the details of the progression of the condition, and the degree to which different aspects contribute to cognitive decline, will be slow to arrive. In the commonly held definition of Alzheimer's disease, one type of amyloid-beta (Aβ42) starts to form clumps between nerve cells, injuring them. Worsening injury is then marked ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs