A new study has found that unclogging the body's protein disposal system could improve memory in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
In AD, various biochemical functions of brain cells go awry, leading to progressive neuronal damage and eventual memory loss. One example is the cellular disposal system, called autophagy, which is disrupted in patients with AD, causing the accumulation of toxic protein plaques characteristic of the disease. Jae-sung Bae and colleagues had earlier noted that the brains of AD patients have elevated levels of an enzyme called acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), which breaks down cell membrane lipids prevalent in the myelin sheath that coats nerve endings. But whether increased ASM directly contributes to AD (and if so, how) was unclear.
Risk Factors for Alzheimers Disease
Cognitively normal adults exhibiting atrophy of their temporal lobe or damage to blood vessels in the brain are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.
The group now finds that these two defects are linked. In mice with AD-like disease, elevated ASM activity clogged up the autophagy machinery resulting in the accumulation of undigested cellular waste. Reducing levels of ASM restored autophagy, lessened brain pathology, and improved learning and memory in the mice. Provided these results hold true in humans, interfering with ASM activity might prove to be an effective way to slow—and possibly reverse—neurodegeneration in patients with AD.
Source: Eurekalert
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