Search


	Podcast:		UC Science Today
	Episode:		New insight into the development of Alzheimer's disease
	Category:		Science & Medicine
	Duration:		00:01:03
	Publish Date:		2016-04-24 00:00:00
	Description:		Why do some people develop Alzheimer’s disease and other do not? UCLA researchers have found a possible answer. Study leader Karen Gylys says they analyzed cryopreserved human tissue samples from cognitively normal patients and those with dementia. This was to get a snapshot of the synapse – that’s the brain’s point of communication between two neurons. "Hopefully, if we understand what’s happening in synapses, we can understand better how to protect synapses because it’s when the synapses go that the cognitive deficits appear." In their samples, Gylys and her colleagues looked at one measure in particular – amyloid beta oligomers. These are clumps of amyloid beta protein before they become actual plaques. Patients with early stage dementia had high levels of oligomers. "Somehow there’s a threshold level of synaptic oligomers that once it’s crossed, that’s when you start getting dementia symptoms. What that suggests is that if you’re able to keep your level of synaptic oligomers low, then maybe you can escape the symptoms."
	Total Play:		0