Transcript

For Betsy Lenner, pictures are reminders of memories lost and faded. Her mother died of Alzheimer's at 83 and now her sister has also been diagnosed with the disease.

Betsy: "I try not to think about it so much, whether I'm going to get it."

So Lenner stays active and hopes for progress in fighting or preventing Alzheimer's.

Now, researchers led by microbiologist Luciano D'Adamio may have found a natural switch that controls the production of the plaque known to build up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

The switch is a gene called BRI2.

A gene called BRI2 may be a natural switch that controls the production of the plaque known to build up in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

Luciano D'Adamio, Microbiologist:

"Our study suggests that BRI2 might actually be a regulator in the process involved with Alzheimer's disease."

Previous research showed that families with a type of inherited dementia similar to Alzheimer's had a defect in the BRI2 gene. D'Adamio and his colleagues set out to see how this gene works.

They reported in the Journal of Biological Chemistry that it tells brain cells to make a protein at their border. That protein prevents the cells from making too many plaques.

D'Adamio hopes his finding will lead to drugs that help the BRI2 gene work properly.

D'Adamio: "Along the road, maybe in a few years, we may gather enough information to design effective drugs to maybe cure, or even prevent, Alzheimer's disease."

Maybe not soon enough to put the breaks on Alzheimer's for Lenner, but she is not about to slow down and worry about it.

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Curcumin is extracted from turmeric, which is used to make curry. Scientists showed that a single night of sleep loss in fruit flies caused disruptions in the flies' cognitive abilities comparable to Parkinson's-associated dementia. They then blocked this effect by feeding the flies large doses of curcumin.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a major contributor to the development of dementia. People exposed to certain ACE inhibitors to treat hypertension saw an average 65 percent less cognitive decline per year. These centrally-acting ACE inhibitors include Capoten, Monopril, Prinivil, Zestri, Aceon, Altace and Mavik.

More Information:

D'Adamio, others, The Familial Dementia BRI2 Gene Binds the Alzheimer Gene Amyloid-beta Precursor Protein and Inhibits Amyloid-beta Production, 2005

D'Adamio, others, BRI3 Inhibits Amyloid Precursor Protein Processing in a Mechanistically Distinct Manner from Its Homologue Dementia Gene BRI2, 2009

SOURCE:

ScienCentral, Inc.

Week of August 30 - September 5, 2009