Category Biology/Biotechnology

The vaccine targets tau proteins (pictured under the microscope) which form tangles in the brain, blocking supplies of vital nutrients to cells, which then die. This triggers the memory loss associated with the disease

In an unprecedented study, active vaccination in humans has resulted in a favorable immune response in 29 out of the 30 patients with only minor side effects. So far, many of the antibody drugs proposed to treat Alzheimer’s disease target only the amyloid plaques. Despite the latest clinical trial that is hailed as our best chance in the quest for treating AD, all later phase trials have failed with many causing severe side effects in the patients, such as abnormal accumulation of fluid and inflammation in the brain...

The neural structure we use to store and process information in verbal working memory is more complex than previously understood, finds a new study by NYU researchers—a discovery that has implications for the creation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, such as speech translation tools. (c)iStock/NicoElNino

The neural structure we use to store and process information in verbal working memory is more complex than previously understood, finds a new study by New York University researchers. It shows that processing information in working memory involves 2 different networks in the brain rather than one—a discovery that has implications for the creation of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, such as speech translation tools.

“Our results show there are at least two brain networks th...

α2A agonists directly affect the non-amyloidogenic pathway and are neuroprotective through sAPPα.

In trials on rats, the drug brimonidine, which is routinely used to lower eye pressure in glaucoma patients, has been found to reduce the formation of amyloid proteins in the retina, which are believed to be linked to Alzheimer’s. The research was reported in the journal Cell Death and Disease. Amyloid plaques can be seen in the retinas of people with Alzheimer’s, so the researchers say the retina can be viewed as an extension of the brain that provides an opportunity to diagnose and track progression of Alzheimer’s.

Scientists found that brimonidine reduces neurodegeneration of cells in the retina by cutting the levels of beta amyloid in the eye...

1. Professor Kim De Keersmaecker (KU Leuven, Belgium) is shown.
Credit: KU Leuven – Rob Stevens. 2. In patients with multiple myeloma, the plasma cells in the bone marrow start proliferating malignantly.

20 – 40% of the patients with multiple myeloma have a defect in the ribosome, protein factory of the cell. These patients have a poorer prognosis than patients with intact ribosomes. At the same time, they respond better to a drug that already exists. These are the findings of a study by the Laboratory for Disease Mechanisms in Cancer at KU Leuven, Belgium.

Multiple myeloma (MM, also known as Kahler’s disease) is a blood cancer whereby the plasma cells in the bone marrow start proliferating malignantly. MM cannot be cured and is most common among older people...