Editor's Summary
16 March 2006
Early Warning Of Alzheimer's
Poor memory function has been noted in individuals that developed Alzheimer's disease up to 15 years before the eventual diagnosis of the condition. Experiments in a mouse model for the disease have now tracked down a possible cause for this early symptom: the extracellular accumulation of a soluble amyloid-
peptide assembly, dubbed A*. When A* is isolated from these mice and injected into rats, the rats also experience temporary memory deterioration independent of plaque formation or neuronal loss, the classic hallmarks of Alzheimer's. This work points to A* as a potential diagnostic, and raises the possibility that by targeting it early it may be possible to prevent or delay the permanent changes characteristic of the later stages of the disease.
News and Views: Alzheimer's disease: A needle from the haystack
Abnormal protein clumps of many varieties build up in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. But which types actually cause memory deficits? The behaviour of model mice might help to find out.
Richard Morris and Lennart Mucke
doi:10.1038/440284a
Letter: A specific amyloid-
protein assembly in the brain impairs memory
Sylvain Lesné, Ming Teng Koh, Linda Kotilinek, Rakez Kayed, Charles G. Glabe, Austin Yang, Michela Gallagher and Karen H. Ashe
doi:10.1038/nature04533
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