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Hello All; I think it's curious how these research news articles seem to travel in packs. I wonder if it's the moon... Janet who slept with four portable heaters last night to ward off the chill. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Alzheimer's clue found --------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright ) 1996 Nando.net Copyright ) 1996 St. Petersburg Times TAMPA, Fla. (Mar 14, 1996 10:09 p.m. EST) -- A fibrous protein linked to Alzheimer's disease has a toxic effect on blood vessels, causing them to constrict and perhaps disrupting blood flow to the brain, scientists said. University of South Florida researchers also found that an enzyme could block the damaging effects of the protein on blood vessels of experimental animals, suggesting new, easier ways to prevent and treat the disease. Most research has focused on damage in the brain, but little on the importance of blood supply to the brain. "It's hard to treat a neuron" in the brain, said Dr. Michael Mullan, who heads the Roskamp Laboratories at USF and is a co-author of the study, published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. "But if you can treat the blood vessel, this would be easier to do." The finding is part of a significant evolution of Alzheimer's discoveries in recent years, as scientists have identified genetic connections, seen possible indications of the disease even in people in their 20s, and developed drugs that ease the disease's effects. For families tortured by the disease's free-fall of mental and physical decline, the USF study is encouraging, but news they should view with caution, scientists and advocates said. USF researchers were examining the protein beta-amyloid, found in tangles in the brains of victims and known to generate free radicals, a natural but damaging side effect of cellular activity. They found free radicals were ripping a thin lining from blood-vessel walls, damaging their ability to relax, said Dr. Tom Thomas, lead author of the paper. "When you lose the cellular lining, the blood vessels will constrict and there is less ability to deliver blood," said Thomas. Less blood would mean less oxygen and nutrients like glucose to the brain. As this occurs, brain cells would die. The study was greeted with the typically cautious optimism of the scientific community. The Alzheimer's Association called it provocative, and a separate article in Nature said the study was "potentially highly important." The importance would be the possible explanation it offers in how Alzheimer's progresses and the ways it suggests the disease can be treated. If Alzheimer's is developing because of blood supply problems, it might be easy to treat with antioxidants, like the enzyme superoxide dismutase that was used in the USF experiments. Antioxidants, like vitamin E, are known to protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. Mullan and his colleagues need to test their study on human blood vessels -- and see if others can replicate their finding, a typical occurence in research. Even if the same effect is found in humans, "we have quite a way to go to find the most appropriate target for treatment," said Mullan. "Our job now is to try and prove -- or disprove -- our hypothesis." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -----Janet [log in to unmask]