Amyloid precursor protein

Introduction: The Blood-Brain Barrier (BBB) is a highly selective permeable barrier that separates the blood circulating in the brain from the extracellular fluid in the central nervous system (CNS). The blood-brain barrier plays a key role in maintaining homeostasis within the brain. The BBB is formed by endothelial cells, these cells allow for the passage of water, gases and lipid-soluble molecules through passive diffusion. As well as the passing of amino acids and glucose through selective transport

Schiffenbauer Research Topics in Biology GSB 493 CA Alzheimer’s disease Introduction Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that accounts for sixty to seventy percent of Dementia cases. It is characterized by the development of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, the loss of connection between neurons in the brain and the death of nerve cells. There are two types of Alzheimer’s Early on-set Alzheimer’s which occur from the ages of thirty to sixty is very rare and makes

Materials and Methods Controlling the formation of beta-amyloid plaques by isolating somatic cells from a patient and creating a stem cell lineage by reverting the isolated cells back to stem cells using the iPS technique. This will allow the cells then to differentiate into neurons and other brain cells. This would allow for connections between neurons to re-develop when injected into a patient’s brain. One advantages to using this technique is the production of autologous cells that were reprogrammed

have focused on finding genetic causes. But now, researchers are looking at how environmental factors may interact with genetics. One genetic factor associated with late-onset AD is called apolipoprotein E (APOE), a gene on chromosome 19 that makes a protein that carries cholesterol and other types of fat in the blood stream. The APOE gene has 3 alleles. APOE2 appears to reduce the risk of AD while APOE3 doesn’t seem to affect the risk at all. But APOE4 is recognized to increase it. We inherit one APOE

Alzheimer 's disease, or senile dementia, is a form of dementia that affects memory, thinking, and behavior. Brain cells and their connections are killed, and this is what causes people 's brain functions to fail. Scientist have yet to know what causes Alzheimer 's, but have discovered that age, family history, and genes contribute to developing the disease. Symptoms experienced by people with Alzheimer 's are poor judgement, poor decision making, inability to manage a budget, losing track of the

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slow-progressing neurodegenerative disease that has no cure and most often affects people over the age of sixty-five. Neurodegeneration is characterized by the loss of function in the central nervous system due to degeneration of neurons found mostly in the brain. The most recent data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that AD is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. The cause of Alzheimer’s is still not completely understood, but

neuronal apoptosis. Several factors have been shown to stimulate apoptosis in various models of AD, including, impaired glucose metabolism, excitotoxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, factors, such as tumor suppressor protein p53, forkhead box protein (FOXO), and ROS, can mediate apoptosis in AD [56, 57]. Thus, new treatment strategies aimed at developing molecules that downregulate apoptosis are currently a primary

Degenerative diseases are due to aggregation of proteins within specific neurons. These proteins are overproduced as a result of an overactive gene. This process interferes with normal cellular function leading to multiple degenerative diseases and is a field that requires researchers to find treatments. The alpha synuclein protein is abundant in the brain and can be found also in other parts of the body. In the brain, it is mainly found at the tips of neurons called the presynaptic terminals. Presynaptic

Intelligence refers to the ability to obtain information and apply skills and consists of different functions, memory, reasoning, logic; these are all controlled by different areas of the brain. Alzheimer’s Disease inhibits short term memory first, before it continually moves throughout the brain, eventually affecting part of the brain that controls involuntary functions. With this in mind someone with MCI would not be able to make clear judgments and recall memory stored in long term memory. The

should investigate for amyloid deposits via more invasive biopsy techniques is due to the higher risk of mortality associated with misdiagnosis and delayed or lack of treatment. If renal biopsies are warranted, sufficient amounts of amyloid deposits can be found around the glomerular basement membranes. Urine testing for paraprotein is not specific enough for the diagnosis of AL, for many gammopathies present with this in the urine. Once biopsies are positive, then the amyloid deposits should be tested