From the first moment I discovered my dad
had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it seemed like I was alone in this ugly
place. Even ones who had loved ones suffering in this way; even though people TALKED
about the disease, it felt for me like they did little more than mumble about
the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to
this blog…
Every month, I’ll be highlighting Alzheimer’s
research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals
and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with
you. Today: “Hyperspectral imaging for early detection of Alzheimer's Disease”
as well as hints that there’s a new blood test to detect Alzheimer’s brain
changes.
What do LSDs, SEA HERO QUEST, Hyperspectral Imaging, and aggregation of
amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau isoforms have in common?
They’re all attempts at creating simplified tests for Alzheimer’s.
Huh? Simple tests?
Can they be accurate? Well, that’s NOT what anyone is claiming.
All two of them look
particularly at the formation of something called beta-amyloid plaques. What’s
a “beta-amyloid plaque”? “Beta-amyloid is a small piece of a larger protein…that
they don’t really understand – it does something, they just don’t know WHAT,
but they do know HOW. It “extends from the inside of brain cells to the outside
by passing through the fatty membrane around the cell.” To work, it has to be “cut
by other proteins into separate, smaller sections that stay inside and outside
cells.” Beta-amyloid is ‘stickier’ than pieces and clumps together forming a “hallmark
of a brain affected by Alzheimer’s. The pieces first form small… [chunks]…then
chains…then ‘mats’… and finally “clumps of” ‘mats’ that’s called a plaque. (https://www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_betaamyloid.pdf
On the other hand,
numerous drugs and treatments aimed at plaques have come to nothing. My dad took
a drug designed to remove plaques for years…
The other culprit
is something called tangles.
LSDs
A few weeks ago, an
entirely new player entered the battle to identify and treat Alzheimer’s and
related diseases: “Plaques and tangles
have so far been the focus of attention in this progressive disease that
currently afflicts more than 5.5 million people in the United States. Plaques,
deposits of a protein fragment called beta-amyloid, look like clumps in the
spaces between neurons. Tangles, twisted fibers of tau, another protein, look
like bundles of fibers that build up inside cells.
“The dominant
theory based on beta-amyloid buildup has been around for decades, and dozens of
clinical trials based on that theory have been attempted, but all have failed,"
said Ryan R. Julian, a professor of chemistry who led the research team. ‘In
addition to plaques, lysosomal storage is observed in brains of people who have
Alzheimer's disease. Neurons -- fragile cells that do not undergo cell division
-- are susceptible to lysosomal problems, specifically, lysosomal storage,
which we report is a likely cause of Alzheimer's disease.”
The HECK is
lysosomal storage???
“The lysosome is
sometimes called ‘the cell's recycling center’ because it breaks down stuff a
cell CAN’T into something that it CAN…Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) happen
when the cell is missing a single enzyme it has to have to break down fats and very
complicated sugars called glycoproteins. In regular LSDs, ‘symptoms show up
within a few weeks after birth and are often fatal within a couple of years.’”
So what does all
of this have to do with Alzheimer’s?
Last of all, detecting
LSDs in Alzheimer’s patients is currently a THEORY. There is no test for it.
The Blood Test
The blood test (also
a recent development), can detect the presence of beta-amyloids in a person not
just who has started the cognitive decline (often times by then it’s simply too
late to do anything – like it was with my dad), but years and perhaps DECADES
before there are any noticeable cognitive changes at all. Specifically, this
test looks for “biomarkers” in a method called “the A/T/N classification system…in
which ‘A’ represents Aβ biomarker concentrations, ‘T’ refers to the level of
tau biomarkers, and ‘N’ reflects neurodegeneration biomarkers or neuronal
injury…” ( https://www.nature.com/articles/s12276-019-0250-2)
Hyperspectral Imaging
A method used to
look into someone’s eyes (which are reportedly the window to the soul), which
apparently is ALSO a window into the brain, specifically, (once again), in
order to detect these beta-amyloids which appear on the retina.
Video Game
In the interest of
saving time, you can read the article on the video game here:
As my daughter and
son-in-law are both video gamers, (and will have a bit of INFREQUENT down time
in the next few weeks as they work to create the “new normal” that comes with a
new baby…), I’d like to take a whack at playing this game and seeing exactly
what it might say about MY brain.
Hyperspectral
Imaging:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319112.php,
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20190425/Scientists-develop-new-video-game-that-may-help-in-the-study-of-Alzheimers.aspx
blood test:
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