In a breakthrough, scientists have identified a potential ca-use of Alzheimer’s based on a newly-discovered signalling pathway in cellular models of the disease.
Scientists so far have widely accepted that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by the accumulation of a peptide called Amyloid beta.
When Amyloid beta is applied to neurons, neuronal morphology beco-mes abnormal and synaptic function is impaired. However, how Amyloid beta causes dysfunction is unknown. The new study by researchers at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience indicates that the presence of Amyloid beta triggers increased levels of a signalling protein, called centaurin-1 (CentA1), that appears to cause neuronal dysfunction – a potentially groundbreaking discovery that uncovers an important intermediary step in the progression of the disease.