Serial Killer Blocked

The possibility of developing drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, the commonest form of dementia, comes closer as we unravel its complex chemistry. We know that a family of substances called amyloid-beta peptides (ABPs) is a serial killer of brain nerve cells, or neurons – whose spindly extremities vulnerable to attack are stained green in this picture of highly magnified brain tissue. While ABPs are difficult to zap with drugs, a much easier target appears to be a protein in the cell membrane, called mGluR5 which has been shown to play a critical role in the ABPs’ attack plan. In an experiment on mice with a similar condition to Alzheimer’s, their memory and learning ability were restored when mGluR5 was chemically blocked. Whether a safe and effective drug can be developed for use on humans remains to be seen but research is now underway.

Written by Mick Warwicker

Mick Warwicker

Writer

A freelance communications consultant and writer, Mick specialises in science and education. A science graduate and award-winning print and broadcast journalist, he was Head of Communications at Newcastle University from 2000–2011.

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• Yale University, USA
• Juha Lauren and Stephen Strittmatter
• Research published in Neuron 79(5): 887–902