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NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE

First, tau causes NO problem

Nature Neuroscience volume 23, pages 1035–1036 (2020)Cite this article

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Pathological tau disrupts the association between nitric oxide (NO) synthase and PSD95, impairing NO signaling and neurovascular coupling before causing neurodegeneration. Stopping production of pathological tau rescues NO signaling, neurovascular coupling and neuronal function, but doesn’t remove tangles, suggesting that (like amyloid-β) soluble tau is an important driver of early neurovascular dysfunction and subsequent neuronal damage.

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Fig. 1: Neurovascular coupling under physiologic conditions and with tauopathy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, UK

    Orla Bonnar & Catherine N. Hall

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  1. Orla Bonnar
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  2. Catherine N. Hall
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Correspondence to Catherine N. Hall.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Bonnar, O., Hall, C.N. First, tau causes NO problem. Nat Neurosci 23, 1035–1036 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-0691-x

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