New link between increased astrocytes in the brain and blood in early Alzheimer’s disease

September 12, 2023

A new study shows that the activation of the brain’s immune defense cells—astrocytes—in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease could be tracked early with a brain PET scanner and is linked to changes that can be detected in the blood later in the course of the disease. The study has now been published in Molecular Neurodegeneration.

Peristaltic pump flow: A potential trigger for amyloid protein aggregation
The factor that tips you over the edge from being at risk for a disease to actually developing the disease is not always clear. Now, researchers from Japan report one factor that triggers problematic proteins to start behaving badly. In a study published recently in npj Biosensing, researchers from Osaka University have revealed that high liquid flow rates could cause aggregation-prone proteins to start sticking together.
Medicare beneficiaries face much higher drug costs as plans quickly shift to co-insurance
Expected out-of-pocket costs for commonly prescribed brand name medications have grown substantially for Medicare Part D beneficiaries as drug plans increasingly tie patient costs to list prices, according to new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics published in JAMA.
SMYD3 enzyme found to suppress antiviral immune response
Interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) is a key transcription factor in the type I interferon signaling. Its activation must be tightly controlled to efficiently activate innate immunity while avoiding its overactivation. However, the precise regulation of IRF3 and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Novel antibiotic BTZ-043 can also target TB bacteria hiding in dead lung tissue
Every year, 10 million people contract tuberculosis (TB), a disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and approximately 1.5 million patients succumb to the disease. Treatment of TB usually requires several months of antibiotic therapy, but the rise of drug-resistant forms of TB has led to an urgent need for new drugs.
Neurons linked to empathy: Study reveals brain cells that help us understand others
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis Medicine Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology have identified specific neuronal cells that are essential to our understanding of other people. Runnan Cao, Ph.D., an instructor in radiology and former postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Shuo Wang, Ph.D., an associate professor of radiology, identified more than 700 such neurons in the human brain. These cells are involved in "social inference," our ability to read cues from other people's body language and expressions to draw conclusions about what they are feeling or thinking.

New link between increased astrocytes in the brain and blood in early Alzheimer’s disease

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