Newly characterized molecule offers possibilities for novel Alzheimer’s treatments

Alzheimer’s disease is an increasingly prevalent, neurodegenerative condition that erodes memory and other cognitive functions. Treatments for this complex disease have been elusive, although researchers have previously uncovered its main biological features: amyloid-beta plaques and tau tangles. A study by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), recently published in Acta Neuropathologica, investigated lesser-known molecules involved in tauopathies like Alzheimer’s. […]

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Lack of a single molecule may indicate severe and treatment-resistant depression

People with depression have low blood levels of a substance called acetyl-L-carnitine, according to a Stanford University School of Medicine scientist and her collaborators in a multicenter study. Naturally produced in the body, acetyl-L-carnitine is also widely available in drugstores, supermarkets and health food catalogs as a nutritional supplement. People with severe or treatment-resistant depression, or whose bouts of depression […]

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How a small molecule halts the spread of a toxic protein associated with Alzheimer’s progression

Alzheimer’s disease destroys brain cells in part by promoting the formation of insoluble clumps that contain a protein called tau. Not only are these “tau aggregates” toxic for the cells that harbor them, but they also invade and destroy neighboring brain cells, or neurons, which speeds the cognitive decline associated with the Alzheimer’s. For those reasons, Alzheimer’s researchers have been […]

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Molecule that dilates blood vessels hints at new way to treat heart disease

Americans die of heart or cardiovascular disease at an alarming rate. In fact, heart attacks, strokes and related diseases will kill an estimated 610,000 Americans this year alone. Some medications help, but to better tackle this problem, researchers need to know exactly how the heart and blood vessels stay healthy in the first place. Now, scientists at The Scripps Research […]

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