Study: Proteins Responsible for Alzheimer's Plaque May Also Clear It from Brain

The proteins responsible for forming the plaque and the tangles associated with Alzheimer's disease may also be responsible for clearing them safely away from the brain, according to a study reported in the January 22nd issue of the journal Neuron.

Lead researcher Dr. David Holtzman, of Washington University School Medicine in St. Louis, said this finding in mice could eventually lead to the use of drugs or therapies to increase the expression of these proteins as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is heralded by the formation and clumping together of brain plaques and tangles. In previous studies, Holtzman's team was instrumental in showing both apolipoprotein E and clusterin promote the formation of these.

In their current study, the researchers expected mice lacking both proteins would develop even fewer deposits. However, they found the opposite to be true. "This was an unexpected and striking result," Holtzman said, noting that apolipoprotein E and clusterin cooperate to suppress the deposits.

According to Holtzman, the next step is to determine whether human forms of apolipoprotein E and clusterin also delay or prevent the development of plaques in the mouse model and to explore the potential for drugs or gene therapy to reverse plaque formation in mice.

Other sources: Washington University School of Medicine