Alzheimer's disease is a common chronic neurological disease in the elderly, which is caused by patients with extensive cerebral cortex atrophy and degenerative diseases. It is mainly dysfunction and behavioral personality disorder. The early manifestations are progressive memory loss and decreased temporal and spatial orientation. In the late stage, he can't take care of himself, and even has difficulty eating, incontinence of urine and feces, unknowing pronunciation, and finally in a vegetative state. This will require dedicated care and will bring a great burden to the family. Researchers at the University of Adelaide in Australia have found out a relationship between the route of cells produce energy for brain function and the mutant genes of patient with Alzheimer's disease. They published this finding that can prompt people to further study this relationship. This may be regarded as the basic and potential pathogenic factor of human Alzheimer's disease in the early stage.
What did the study do?
In this study, the researchers analyzed genetic mutations in the brains of younger adult zebrafish that are associated with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. The zebrafish were chosen as the research object because their family is very large, which makes it easier to detect subtle effects through them. The research team uses mathematical analysis and advanced genetic technology. They compared the gene activity of zebrafish and found subtle differences between normal fish and mutant fish. Although the researchers found that different mutations in distinct genes can have many various effects on the function of fish brain cell, they also found that mutations in Alzheimer's disease can affect a very important function of cell, which is the utilize of oxygen in the cell to make energy.
The lead researcher of this study, Dr. Karissa Barthelson, thinks that this discovery is very interesting. Because they know that when Alzheimer's disease is finally progressed, people's brains will become severely lacking in energy. After they discovered the results of above research, they took this research to a deeper level. They knew that a research team had studied an important Alzheimer's disease-related gene in mice. They reanalyzed the research data of that research team. After reanalysis, they can see similar results. This strengthened their confidence in the results of their research. They believe that their research has discovered a basic, early pathogenic factor for Alzheimer's disease of human.
Prospects for the future.
The brain is composed of many different types of cells. These cells have complex ways of producing and sharing energy. The following, the research team at the University of Adelaide wants to study how Alzheimer's disease genetic mutations affect these different cell types. They are very satisfied that this study has found out an important and common early factor that induces the development of Alzheimer's disease.
The researchers pointed out that the cost of Alzheimer's disease to society is very huge. Not only does it take human and financial resources to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, but as the patients' cognitive and memory decline, they will also lose the relationship with their relatives and friends.
Energy manufacturing is the most constitutional and basic cell activity that supports all other functions, especially in highly activated organs such as the brain. If people can understand in detail what is wrong with the utilize of oxygen and energy production. We may discover a method to stop the Alzheimer's disease before it starts. This will greatly benefit the elderly population.
My thoughts
Alzheimer's disease is a disease that lacks a cure. For some family members of patients, they may be even more painful than the patient during the long-term care of the patient. Therefore, they may begin to seek the help of professional elderly care institutions and nursing staff. This will increase their financial burden. Under the influence of these pressures, those family members are exhausted physically and mentally, and then suffer from illnesses. Although the US Food and Drug Administration approved Biogen's new drug for Alzheimer's disease, aducanumab, in mid-2021, the target, efficacy and price of this drug have been controversial. In addition, its treatment procedures are also very complicated. Its sales in the third quarter of 2021 were far worse than expected. Therefore, this discovery may provide a new idea to develop drugs for Alzheimer's disease.
If you want to know more detail, please read this article belowπ:
Karissa Barthelson, Morgan Newman, Michael Lardelli; Brain transcriptomes of zebrafish and mouse Alzheimer's disease knock-in models imply early disrupted energy metabolism. Dis Model Mech 2021; dmm.049187. doi:
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