Recently, a study from the University of Montreal showed that Alzheimer’s disease is associated with fatty acid deposits in the brain, which slowly build up with aging.
A team from the University of Sophia Antipolis (Nice) and the University of Munich (Germany) has identified a new peptide (the component of proteins) that could be involved. Close to amyloid-beta, already known to lead to the creation of plaques in the brains of affected patients, amyloid-eta would also play a preponderant role.
“It had escaped detection for 30 years,” explain the authors, whose study was published in the journal Nature. Like its beta counterpart, this peptide “decreases the strengthening of synapses necessary for memorization”, and therefore leads in part to neuronal degeneration. And given its neurotoxicity, “this new peptide is undoubtedly involved in the mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease, but further work will be necessary to determine its impact on cognitive deficits”, note the authors. in a press release.
Thanks to this discovery, other therapeutic avenues could be explored by researchers in an attempt to stop memory loss.
In France, it is estimated that 860,000 people are affected by Alzheimer’s disease or a related neurodegenerative disease. To date, and even if research is going well, no curative treatment is marketed. Only a healthy lifestyle seems to reduce the risk of contracting the disease.
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