Medin Amyloid Aggregation with Age Causes Cerebral Vascular Dysfunction

There are twenty or so different proteins in the body that can become altered in ways that cause them to aggregate into solid deposits known as amyloids, spreading and encouraging other molecules of the same protein to do likewise. Amyloids are a phenomenon of old individuals and old tissues, for reasons that are much debated and no doubt quite complex. Some of these amyloids are well studied and well known to be harmful, such as the amyloid-β involved in Alzheimer's disease. Others are known but less well studied, and whether or not they are harmful is a question mark. The progression of knowledge over the past decade regarding the damage done by transthyretin amyloid, with new associations with disease states emerging every few years, suggests that looking more closely at any amyloid will turn up ways in which it contributes to age-related tissue dysfunction and disease. The SENS proposals for rejuvenation therapies suggest that all amyloids should be targeted for removal by approaches such as catabodies, firstly on the basis that they are a feature of aging, a distinguishing difference between young and old tissues, and secondly that the amyloids that have been carefully investigated all turned out to be harmful. Today's research materials are an example of looking more closely at the biochemistry of one specific amyloid, and as a result finding out that it isn't innocuous. Medin is the most common human amyloid, which makes it interesting that there has bee...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs