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Research Links Brain Organ to Alzheimer's

Posted on: Wednesday, 22 March 2006, 03:03 CST

Researchers at Indiana's Purdue University say that a brain organ acts as a fishnet, removing the beta-amyloids linked to Alzheimer's disease.

Wei Zheng, an associate professor in the School of Health Sciences, said that as patients age the choroid plexus may let larger amounts of the protein through. Patients with Alzheimer's have large quantities of beta-amyloids and a buildup of plaque in the brain, although researchers are unsure if the disease is caused by the beta-amyloids or the plaque.

This newly uncovered pathway may help explain how normal brains balance this protein and how an imbalance caused by aging, genetic or environmental factors may lead to or worsen Alzheimer's disease, Zheng said.

Previous theories on Alzheimer's have focused on overproduction of beta amyloid.

Zheng and two post-doctoral students are to be honored for their paper in April by the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine.

Source: United Press International

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