Research Believes Neuroglobin Can Protect Against Alzheimer's

Researchers from the University of California, Davis, and the University of Auckland have found that neuroglobin may protect against Alzheimer's disease by preventing brain neurons

Recent research at the University of California, Davis, and the University of Auckland has revealed that neuroglobin may protect against Alzheimer's disease. It works by preventing brain neurons from dying in response to natural stress.

Scientists have learned that neuroglobin protects cells from stroke damage, amyloid toxicity and injury due to lack of oxygen.

Alzheimer’s disease - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Stages, Types, Prevention, Prognosis & Treatment
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting memory and thinking and making the person increasingly dependent on others.

It occurs in various regions of the brain and at particularly high levels in brain cells called neurons.

However, the exact mechanisms by which neuroglobin protects cells was not known yet.

A cell dies quickly when its mitochondria stop functioning.

Diseases Related to Old Age
Ageing is referred to the accumulation of changes that brings a person closer to death.

Various kinds of stressors, such as lack of oxygen, low nutrient levels, increased calcium levels or presence of toxic substances can cause mitochondria to rupture.

UC Davis biomedical engineering professor Subhadip Raychaudhuri found that neuroglobins neutralize a molecule necessary for the formation of a type of protein that triggers the cell's collapse.

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In Alzheimer's disease too, a toxic type of protein accumulates in brain neurons and leads to mitochondrial rupture and cell death, and hence this find could have important implications in treating AD.

The team published the results of their study in the April, 2010 issue of Apoptosis.

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.

Source-ANI