老年痴呆症治疗的新进展
2008-08-29
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老年痴呆症治疗的新进展
作者：英国《金融时报》丽贝卡•奈特(Rebecca Knight)报道
2008年8月25日 星期一
俄亥俄州立大学(Ohio State University)研究人员的一项最新研究显示，与大脑中的一种蛋白质相互作用的一类化合物，能够用于老年痴呆症(Alzheimer)和其它痴呆疾病的早期诊断和治疗。
科学家发现，这些化合物与tau蛋白以3种特别的方式发生作用，tau蛋白是日益增多的研究老年痴呆症成因和发展的研究人员的课题。老年痴呆症是老年人中最为普遍的痴呆疾病。
在正常人的大脑中，tau蛋白与大脑组织相连并对大脑组织起到稳定作用，它是大脑正常运转的必要物质。
但与大脑组织分离的tau蛋白会形成长长的线状物，人们称之为纤维丝。这些纤维丝缠结在一起，就会导致阿尔茨海默病和其它神经退行性疾病。
根据被观测的特定化合物的不同，它们在遇到tau蛋白时会产生3种不同的结果：与蛋白纤维丝连接、阻止纤维丝生长或促使tau蛋白形成纤维丝。
但科学家表示，一些化合物似乎有可能改善老年痴呆症及其它神经退行性疾病的诊断，因为这些化合物有寻找tau纤维丝和与之结合的倾向。
www.osu.edu
译者/梁艳裳
Compounds may aid Alzheimer's
Rebecca Knight
Monday, August 25, 2008
A new study by researchers at Ohio State University suggests that a select group of compounds that interact with a protein in the brain could be used in the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other dementia disorders.
Scientists have discovered that these compounds interact in three specific ways with the tau protein, which is the subject of a growing body of research into the causes and progression of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia among older people.
In a normal brain, the tau protein connects to and stabilises structures in the brain that are necessary for proper functioning.
But tau protein that splits away from these structures can start forming long strands called filaments. These filaments can cluster into tangles, which are a marker of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
Depending on the particular compounds under observation, they can produce three different outcomes when introduced to the tau protein: they attach to the protein filaments, keep the filaments from developing or drive tau protein to form filaments.
But certain compounds seem to show potential to allow for advanced diagnosis of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative disorders because of their propensity to search for and bond to tau filaments, said the scientists.
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本栏目主要介绍人类的故事，包括人类的进化、人类的起源、人类学、人类研究、人类基因发现、老年痴呆症治疗的新进展等。特别关注有关人与文化方面的研究。
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