Tau Protein News and Research

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

Scientists find tau protein as better marker of Alzheimer's disease

A buildup of plaque and dysfunctional proteins in the brain are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. While much Alzheimer's research has focused on accumulation of the protein amyloid beta, researchers have begun to pay closer attention to another protein, tau, long associated with this disease but not studied as thoroughly, in part, because scientists only recently have developed effective ways to image tau.

12 May 2016

Scientists find interaction between amyloid and tau proteins that cause brain damage linked with AD

For years, neuroscientists have puzzled over how two abnormal proteins, called amyloid and tau, accumulate in the brain and damage it to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD). Which one is the driving force behind dementia? The answer: both of them, according to a new study by researchers at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.

21 Apr 2016

Researchers clarify potential transmissibility of Alzheimer's disease

MedUni Vienna researchers have published the results of a clarifying research study on the potential transmissibility of Alzheimer's disease. Although the protein associated with Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-β, might be transmissible under very unusual circumstances, this does not go along with a transmission of the clinical manifestation of Alzheimer's disease. The affected persons develop no clinical symptoms of the disease.

29 Mar 2016

Novel therapeutic approach to target monomeric Tau protein

Dementia and other tauopathies, most notably Alzheimer's disease, embody a class of neurodegenerative diseases associated with the aggregation of the Tau protein in the human brain. These diseases represent one of the leading causes of death and disability in the elderly population in the western world, with no current effective therapy.

27 Feb 2016

Study explores link between CSF biomarkers and cognition in Parkinson's disease

Many patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. Identifying biomarkers for cognitive impairment could be instrumental in facilitating both early diagnosis of MCI and developing new cognitive-enhancing treatments. New research published in the Journal of Parkinson's Disease indicates that lower concentrations of α-synuclein in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is associated with reduced performance on several cognitive tests.

18 Feb 2016

Mayo Clinic researchers uncover clues to apraxia of speech

It may start with a simple word you can't pronounce. Your tongue and lips stumble, and gibberish comes out. Misspeaking might draw a chuckle from family and friends. But, then, it keeps happening. Progressively, more and more speech is lost. Some patients eventually become mute from primary progressive apraxia of speech, a disorder related to degenerative neurologic disease.

15 Feb 2016

Seafood consumption may benefit older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease

New research published Feb. 2 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that older adults with a major risk gene for Alzheimer's disease known as APOE?4 who ate at least one seafood serving per week showed fewer signs of Alzheimer's-related brain changes. In contrast, this association was not found in the brains of volunteers who ate fish weekly but did not carry the risk gene.

3 Feb 2016

New UTMB study reveals link between traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer's disease

A new study from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston fills an important gap in understanding the link between traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

13 Jan 2016

UCA researchers create new animal models to study link between diabetes and Alzheimer's disease

In recent time, many epidemiological studies have proved very close links existing between diabetes and Alzheimer´s disease. In fact, it has been stated that diabetes is a significant risk factor for suffering from Alzheimer and vascular dementia, the two main causes of dementia.

12 Jan 2016

Researchers awarded $16 million NIH/NINDS grant to create methods for detecting CTE during life

Researchers from Boston University, the Cleveland Clinic, Banner Alzheimer's Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, have been awarded a $16 million grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

23 Dec 2015

Drug prevents onset of cognitive and cellular effects in mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

In a novel animal study design that mimicked human clinical trials, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that long-term treatment using a small molecule drug that reduces activity of the brain's stress circuitry significantly reduces Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology and prevents onset of cognitive impairment in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition.

17 Nov 2015

Anavex reports safety and efficacy data of ANAVEX 2-73 Phase 2a trial in Alzheimer’s patients

On Saturday, investigators presented positive safety and cognitive efficacy data for ANAVEX 2-73, the Company’s lead investigational oral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease targeting sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors, which are believed to reduce protein misfolding including reduction of beta amyloid, tau protein and inflammation at the international CTAD 2015 conference in Barcelona, Spain.

11 Nov 2015

MGH researchers identify mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators have discovered a mechanism behind the spread of neurofibrillary tangles - one of the two hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease - through the brains of affected individuals.

27 Oct 2015

Diabetes may be linked to buildup of brain tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease

Diabetes may be linked to the buildup of tangles or tau in the brain, separate from Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study published in the September 2, 2015, online version of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

3 Sep 2015

MetLife Foundation Awards for Medical Research presented at AAIC 2015

At the Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2015 in Washington D.C., MetLife Foundation presented its annual MetLife Foundation Awards for Medical Research. These awards were presented to Randall Bateman, M.D., and Christian Haass, Ph.D., for their contributions in advancing Alzheimer's disease research.

21 Jul 2015

C2N-8E12 (ABBV-8E12) gets orphan drug designation from FDA for PSP treatment

C2N Diagnostics and AbbVie today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted their investigational recombinant humanized anti-tau antibody, C2N-8E12 (ABBV-8E12), an orphan drug designation for the treatment of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

17 Jul 2015

New research offers potential for early intervention to prevent neurodegenerative diseases

New research led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center provides the first direct evidence linking traumatic brain injury to Alzheimer's disease and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) -- and offers the potential for early intervention to prevent the development of these debilitating neurodegenerative diseases.

16 Jul 2015

Hartmuth Kolb named recipient of 2015 Alzheimer Award

The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease is proud to announce that Hartmuth Kolb, PhD, Head of Neuroscience Biomarkers, Johnson & Johnson, San Diego, CA, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2015 Alzheimer Award presented by the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease in recognition of his outstanding work on the importance and imaging of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and Alzheimer's disease (AD).

26 Jun 2015

New in vitro system could become important tool in search for potential drugs against Alzheimer’s

A typical characteristic of the brain of an Alzheimer sufferer is the presence of insoluble Tau protein aggregates. Scientists at VIB, KU Leuven and Janssen Pharmaceutica have demonstrated that the distribution of these aggregates through the brain is facilitated by synaptic connections between brain cells.

26 May 2015

Ground-breaking study characterizes early-stage Alzheimer's abnormalities in the intact brain

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition that strikes at the heart of what makes us human: the ability to think, to feel, to remember and to communicate with those around us. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that there is currently no cure, no treatment, and no diagnostic method capable of identifying Alzheimer's at its early stages.

6 May 2015