Tau Protein News and Research

RSS

Tau proteins are microtubule-associated proteins found in neurons in the brain.

Subtle differences in cognitive performance predict progression to Alzheimer's pathology

Alzheimer's disease is progressive, but slow to develop -- or at least to reveal itself. In a new study, published online February 14, 2020 in the journal Biological Psychiatry, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere, report that early, subtle differences in cognitive performance, such as fewer words recalled on a memory test, are a sign that harmful proteins are accumulating in the brain, even if levels of those proteins do not yet qualify as dangerous.

16 Feb 2020

Bacterial DNA promotes tau protein misfolding and aggregation, study shows

Researchers from Human Microbiology Institute and Mitchell Center for Alzheimer’s disease at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston have discovered that bacterial extracellular DNA can trigger Tau protein misfolding into neurotoxic aggregates, a key process in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis.

12 Feb 2020

Accumulated brain protein affects genes in Alzheimer's disease

A new study published in February 2020 in the journal Cell Reports shows how the build-up of specific brain cell proteins are linked to altered gene expression that causes the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

11 Feb 2020

New multiplexed electrical biosensor for accurate detection of Alzheimer's disease

A research team at KAIST reported clinically accurate multiplexed electrical biosensor for detecting Alzheimer's disease by measuring its core biomarkers using densely aligned carbon nanotubes.

11 Feb 2020

Flickering light triggers the brain to release signaling chemicals that may help fight Alzheimer's

For over a century, Alzheimer's disease has confounded all attempts to treat it. But in recent years, perplexing experiments using flickering light have shown promise.

4 Feb 2020

Reelin can reverse the main pathological processes associated with Alzheimer's, other tauopathies

Promoting the signaling pathway of reelin -an essential extracellular protein for the neuronal migration and synaptic plasticity- could be an effective therapeutical strategy to counterbalance the main cognitive, biochemical and behavioral alterations seen in Alzheimer's and other pathologies associated with Tau protein, as shown in a new study with animal models -published in the journal Progress in Neurobiology.

23 Jan 2020

Study shows the feasibility of using gene therapy to treat chronic traumatic encephalopathy

A new study shows the feasibility of using gene therapy to treat the progressive neurodegenerative disorder chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

3 Jan 2020

Tau-protein better predicts brain atrophy in Alzheimer's patients than amyloid plaques

Brain imaging of pathological tau-protein "tangles" reliably predicts the location of future brain atrophy in Alzheimer's patients a year or more in advance, according to a new study by scientists at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. In contrast, the location of amyloid "plaques," which have been the focus of Alzheimer's research and drug development for decades, was found to be of little utility in predicting how damage would unfold as the disease progressed.

2 Jan 2020

New dementia vaccine may proceed to clinical trials after successful testing

A preventive treatment for dementia may proceed to clinical trials after successful animal testing.

31 Dec 2019

Suppressing MSUT2 gene may protect people from Alzheimer’s disease

In the wake of recent disappointments over clinical trials targeting amyloid plaque build-up in Alzheimer's disease, researchers are focusing more attention on misfolded tau protein, another culprit in brain diseases that cause dementia.

18 Dec 2019

Research suggests contributory role of 'Asian glow' mutation and alcohol to Alzheimer’s

A new study from Stanford, published on December 12 in the journal Acta Neuropathologica Communications, suggests that an important enzyme that helps break down alcohol in the body is defective in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Understanding its relationship with alcohol and with genes that predispose to AD could help avert the latter in humans at risk.

12 Dec 2019

Study could help improve GENUS to become a therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease

The sweeping extent to which increasing 40Hz "gamma" rhythm power in the brain can affect the pathology and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mouse models has been surprising, even to the MIT neuroscientists who've pioneered the idea. So surprising, in fact, they can't yet explain why it happens.

11 Dec 2019

ADDF announces new awards through its Diagnostics Accelerator initiative

The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation announced six new investments totaling $6 million through its Diagnostics Accelerator initiative.

4 Dec 2019

Study shows potential of hydromethylthionine treatment for Alzheimer's disease

In a paper published in today's online issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (DOI 10.3233/JAD-190772), TauRx has reported unexpected results of a pharmacokinetic analysis of the relationship between treatment dose, blood levels and pharmacological activity of the drug hydromethylthionine on the brain in over 1,000 patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

27 Nov 2019

Oligomerix and Feinstein Institutes publish preclinical data of Alzheimer's disease treatment

Oligomerix, Inc., a privately held company pioneering the development of tau oligomer inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, and the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research announced today the publication of preclinical data demonstrating that an oral small molecule drug inhibits the formation of neurotoxic tau oligomers in an animal model of tau aggregation most relevant to AD.

26 Nov 2019

Extra virgin olive oil boosts brain power

Researchers from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University have found that extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) could help boost brain power and help halt the progression of the effects of aging on the brain. The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Aging Cell, and it was titled, “Extra virgin olive oil improves synaptic activity, short‐term plasticity, memory, and neuropathology in a tauopathy model.”

26 Nov 2019

Newly identified gene variant may offer potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease

Defying the odds, an individual at high risk for early-onset Alzheimer's disease remained dementia-free for many years beyond what was anticipated.

4 Nov 2019

High-salt diet may trigger dementia

We’ve all heard that taking too much salt can damage your blood vessels, and now a new study published in the journal Nature on October 23, 2019, says it’s true – a diet rich in salt reduces the levels of nitric oxide, which in turn alters the tau protein within the neuron, triggering a fall in cognitive processing by the brain.

24 Oct 2019

High levels of dietary salt can activate a brain pathway to cause cognitive impairment

High levels of dietary salt can activate a pathway in the brain to cause cognitive impairment, according to a new study. The paper, which was published in Nature, shows that this effect is not due to a loss in blood flow to the brain as originally thought, but rather to clumps of a protein linked to several forms of dementia in humans.

23 Oct 2019

More brain pathology and hospitalizations associated with faster rate of cognitive decline

Older people who experienced more hospitalizations and also had more Alzheimer's pathology in their brain experienced the fastest rates of cognitive decline, according to study results published in the October 15 online issue of the Annals of Neurology.

22 Oct 2019