In the continuing quest for effective treatments to fight the devastating cognitive decline typical of Alzheimer's, researchers at Israel's University of Haifa have discovered a link between the disease and the activity level of a protein called eIF2alpha.
This study was published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging. A release from the university reports that lead author Professor Kobi Rosenblum says that altering the performance of this protein via drug therapy "could constitute a treatment for Alzheimer’s, which is incurable."
The release also notes that Alzheimer’s research in recent years has primarily focused on battling the disease once symptoms have appeared, even though it’s known that the disease nests in the brain many years before any symptoms are revealed. The new study, headed by Professor Rosenblum in cooperation with research student Yifat Segev and Professor Danny Michaelson of Tel Aviv University, sought to identify factors that could be linked to Alzheimer’s even before the irreversible amyloid plaques are formed. The plaques are connected to the disease’s primary risk factor, which is advanced age.
According to Segev, this is the first time that a link has been found between the activity of eIF2alpha and the Apoe4 gene in relation to Alzheimer’s disease. She noted that modification treatments for the eIF2alpha mechanism are being widely researched and are developing quickly. She notes that the more we can understand about the connection between this mechanism and Alzheimer’s, the more we can find ways to identify and slow the progress of the disease.
