2.02.2006
Protein May Fend off Memory Loss
>
Coglabs Newswire...Feb. 2 -- A Yale study finds raising the level of a protein that plays a role in spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis cuts Alzheimer's disease-causing plaque.
Yale School of Medicine researcher Dr. Stephen Strittmatter, senior author of the study, said the finding indicates pharmacological methods to increase the protein NogoReceptor might be a way to treat deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Strittmatter, co-director of Yale's Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair program, previously determined a molecular pathway involving the NogoReceptor protein plays a crucial role in determining whether nerve fibers grow or remain stationary in the adult brain. The protein inhibits the regeneration of axonal nerve fibers in injured spinal cords and in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
The new study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.
Yale School of Medicine researcher Dr. Stephen Strittmatter, senior author of the study, said the finding indicates pharmacological methods to increase the protein NogoReceptor might be a way to treat deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease.
Strittmatter, co-director of Yale's Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration and Repair program, previously determined a molecular pathway involving the NogoReceptor protein plays a crucial role in determining whether nerve fibers grow or remain stationary in the adult brain. The protein inhibits the regeneration of axonal nerve fibers in injured spinal cords and in neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
The new study appears in the Journal of Neuroscience.
