(Roshini Nair/ CBC News) — Researchers believed the proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease were largely produced by brain tissue but new research from the University of British Columbia shows proteins produced elsewhere in the body may also contribute to the development of the degenerative disease.
Alzheimer’s, the slow disintegration of thinking ability, memory and behaviour, is incurable. It is a leading cause of dementia worldwide.
Dr. Weihong Song, a UBC psychiatry professor and a Canada Research Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease, says his research team focused on the amyloid-β protein, a protein of unclear function which is normally produced everywhere in the body.
The neurons of the brain produce the amyloid-β protein in large amounts when a person has Alzheimer’s, he said. The protein forms plaques which contributes to its development.
But the protein is also produced in other body tissues — like blood platelets, blood vessels and muscles. (…)