Alzheimer’s disease is a type of sickness that affects your brain. It makes you lose your memory and makes it harder to think or remember things.
Scientists think that two things in your brain might cause it – amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Amyloid plaques are clumps of proteins that build up between nerve cells in your brain.
Tau tangles are disordered protein fibers that form inside neurons, the cells that transmit information in our brains.
The Alzheimer’s Mystery
Here’s a mystery though – why do some people develop Alzheimer’s disease while others don’t, even if they have these amyloid plaques and tau tangles in their brains?
This is a question that has puzzled doctors and scientists for a long time.
The Hidden Heroes: Astrocytes
Recently, a group of scientists from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found something interesting.
They studied astrocytes, star-shaped cells in our brain, and discovered they play a big role in whether someone gets Alzheimer’s disease.
These scientists tested the blood of over 1,000 older people who did not have memory or thinking problems.
They found that only those who had amyloid plaques and abnormal astrocytes in their blood would later develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Astrocytes are like the caretakers of your brain. They feed nerve cells, protect them, and help them do their jobs.
Even though they don’t conduct electricity like nerve cells do, these astrocytes are crucial for the health of our brains.
“Astrocytes coordinate brain amyloid and tau relationship like a conductor directing the orchestra,” said Bruna Bellaver, one of the scientists. This discovery is like a game-changer in the field of Alzheimer’s research.
Astrocytes to the Rescue
The team discovered that astrocytes could predict whether a person will get Alzheimer’s disease. They found a specific marker, called glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), in the blood of people whose astrocytes were acting unusually.
When people had this marker and amyloid plaques, they were more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
The Future of Alzheimer’s Research
This discovery is very important for future studies and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
By testing for both amyloid plaques and astrocytes’ activity in the blood, doctors can better identify who is at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
This can help them pick the right people for trials of new treatments, and possibly help stop the disease from progressing early on.
So, these star-shaped cells, astrocytes, may be small but they’re mighty important. They might just be the hidden heroes in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Isn’t that incredible?
If you care about brain health, please read studies about a primary cause of Alzheimer’s, and higher magnesium intake could help benefit brain health.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and coconut oil could help improve cognitive function in Alzheimer’s.
The study was published in Nature Medicine.
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