Discovery of synapse loss could help in discovery of Alzheimer’s treatments

The research team, led by scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Australia say they have found how brain cell connections are being destroyed in the early stages of the disease, and that breakthrough could lead to a new type of research.

“Synapses are required for all brain functions”, he explained in a statement, “and particularly for learning and forming memories”.

According to The Financial Express, the loss of synapses begins when patients have only mild cognitive impairment.

“We have identified a new molecular mechanism which directly contributes to this synapse loss – a discovery we hope could eventually lead to earlier diagnosis of the disease and new treatments”, Dr Sytnyk asserted. They found that this protein is located in the hippocampus and patients with Alzheimer’s disease have lower NCAM2 levels.

In Alzheimer’s, most of the damage appears to take place in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that is essential in forming memories. But that does not mean it is the truth as this devastating disease is making toxic changes, the loss of synapses being one of the first changes linked with Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers a putting a lot of effort in finding effective treatments and also developing new drugs that tackle aspects of aging associated with the condition.

Even mice studies and laboratory studies conducted by the researchers revealed that NCAM2 can be broken down by beta-amyloid, which is also a protein, and the primary component of plaques building up in brains of people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers found that synaptic levels of NCAM2 in the brain were low in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

The discovery of this mechanism paves the way for the development of new treatments for Alzheimer’s, the researcher said.

Alzheimer’s Disease is the only top 10 fatal disease in America that can not be prevented, slowed or cured with current medicine. Alzheimer’s Disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.

Additionally, Dr Emma O’Brien, of Alzheimer’s Research UK, comments: “Everything we do, say or think is the result of signals sent between nerve cells in the brain”.

Results of the study were published this week in the journal Nature Communications.

With the amount of people affected by Alzheimer’s expected to increase three-fold by 2050, we need to figure out how to beat this disease, and fast.

Alzheimer’s disease was first discovered in 1906, by Dr. Alois Alzheimer after observing the symptoms of a woman who died after experiencing memory loss and unpredictable behavior.