Tau Protein News and Research

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

Epithilone D effective in preventing Alzheimer's in animal models

While clinical trial results are being released regarding drugs intended to decrease amyloid production - thought to contribute to decline in Alzheimer's disease - clinical trials of drugs targeting other disease proteins, such as tau, are in their initial phases.

20 Jul 2012

RNA-binding proteins accumulate in the brains of patients with AD

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have identified a novel group of proteins that accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. These findings, which appear online in the Journal of Neuroscience, may open up novel approaches to diagnose and stage the progression likelihood of the disease in Alzheimer patients.

14 Jun 2012

Intellect Neurosciences announces two new programs in Alzheimer's disease development pipeline

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases, today announced two new programs in its Alzheimer's disease development pipeline. The new programs are based on two antibodies that target early neurotoxic forms of tau protein, which Intellect intends to develop for therapeutic and diagnostic uses.

7 May 2012

Probiodrug AG, collaborators explain interplay of key suspects in Alzheimer’s

Probiodrug AG (Probiodrug), a biotech company developing products for the treatment of neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases with a particular focus on Alzheimer's disease (AD), today announced its scientists and academics collaborators published seminal findings on the role of pyroglu Aβ in AD pathology in the May 2, 2012 online edition of the journal Nature (DOI: 10.1038/nature11060). The new findings add to the growing body of evidence that pyroglu Aβ plays a crucial role in the initiation of AD. In addition, the research results further elucidate the mechanism by which pyroglu Aβ triggers neuronal toxicity.

3 May 2012

Grape-derived compound may prevent neurodegenerative disorders involving tau neuropathology

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have gained insight into the mechanism by which a pathological brain protein called tau contributes to the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. This finding, published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, may provide the basis for future investigations on how to prevent tau from damaging brain circuits involved in cognitive function.

2 May 2012

Neuron-killing pathology of AD requires presence of a-beta and elevated p-tau levels

According to a new study, the neuron-killing pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which begins before clinical symptoms appear, requires the presence of both amyloid-beta (a-beta) plaque deposits and elevated levels of an altered protein called p-tau.

24 Apr 2012

Oligomerix to advance tau protease inhibitor program with $2M Series A financing

Oligomerix, Inc., a privately held company pioneering the development of disease modifying therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, announced today the completion of approximately $2 million in Series A financing, which includes both issuance of new convertible preferred shares and debt conversion.

23 Apr 2012

More insight into tangled proteins in Alzheimer's disease

In Alzheimer's disease, brain neurons become clogged with tangled proteins. Scientists suspect these tangles arise partly due to malfunctions in a little-known regulatory system within cells. Now, researchers have dramatically increased what they know about this particular regulatory system in mice. Such information will help scientists better understand Alzheimer's and other diseases in humans and could eventually provide new targets for therapies.

17 Apr 2012

Reducing iron levels in blood plasma may protect brain from changes related to AD

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is now the sixth leading cause of death among Americans, affecting nearly 1 in 8 people over the age of 65. There is currently no treatment that alters the course of this disease. However, an increasing amount of evidence suggests that changes in the way the body handles iron and other metals like copper and zinc may start years before the onset of AD symptoms. A new study shows that reducing iron levels in blood plasma may protect the brain from changes related to AD.

11 Apr 2012

New SORL1 gene causes early-onset Alzheimer's

A new gene that causes early-onset of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by the research team of Dominique Campion at the Insert unit 1079 "Genetics of cancer and neuropsychiatric diseases" in Rouen.

5 Apr 2012

Repeated stress triggers tau protein aggregates inside brain cells

Repeated stress triggers the production and accumulation of insoluble tau protein aggregates inside the brain cells of mice, say researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in a new study published in the March 26 Online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

27 Mar 2012

FKBP52 may prevent hyperphosphorylation of pathogenic Tau protein

New research in humans published today reveals that the so-called FKBP52 protein may prevent the Tau protein from turning pathogenic. This may prove significant for the development of new Alzheimer's drugs and for detecting the disease before the onset of clinical symptoms.

21 Mar 2012

Intellect Neurosciences receives U.S. patent allowance for ANTISENILIN to treat AD

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases announced today that it received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for patent claims covering the company's ANTISENILIN monoclonal antibody platform technology for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease.

7 Mar 2012

Curcumin prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with AD

Curcumin, a substance extracted from turmeric, prolongs life and enhances activity of fruit flies with a nervous disorder similar to Alzheimers. The study conducted at Link-ping University, indicates that it is the initial stages of fibril formation and fragments of the amyloid fibrils that are most toxic to neurons.

15 Feb 2012

Researchers tease out toxic role of tau oligomers in Alzheimer's

One of the most distinctive signs of the development of Alzheimer's disease is a change in the behavior of a protein that neuroscientists call tau. In normal brains, tau is present in individual units essential to neuron health. In the cells of Alzheimer's brains, by contrast, tau proteins aggregate into twisted structures known as "neurofibrillary tangles."

3 Feb 2012

Abnormal tau protein propagates along linked brain circuits

For decades, researchers have debated whether Alzheimer's disease starts independently in vulnerable brain regions at different times, or if it begins in one region and then spreads to neuroanatomically connected areas. A new study by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers strongly supports the latter, demonstrating that abnormal tau protein, a key feature of the neurofibrillary tangles seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer's, propagates along linked brain circuits, "jumping" from neuron to neuron.

2 Feb 2012

Combination of biomarkers indicates high risk of Alzheimer's in the future

Physician Oskar Hansson and his research group are studying biomarkers - substances present in spinal fluid and linked to Alzheimer's disease. The group has studied close to 140 people with mild memory impairment, showing that a certain combination of markers (low levels of the substance beta-amyloid and high levels of the substance tau) indicate a high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in the future.

3 Jan 2012

Link between high tau levels and worse outcome after head trauma

High levels of tau protein in fluid bathing the brain are linked to poor recovery after head trauma, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Fondazione IRCCS Ca Granda-Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico in Milan, Italy.

14 Dec 2011

Alzheimer’s disease vaccine developed by Australian scientists

Scientists from the University of Sydney on Saturday have announced that they have developed a vaccine to help halt the progression of Alzheimer's disease of humans. The progress of neurodegenerative condition affects more than 35 million people worldwide.

12 Dec 2011

Alzheimer’s vaccine cures memory of mice

A vaccine that slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia has been developed by researchers at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI).

7 Dec 2011