Alzheimer’s is a form of dementia that affects tens of millions of people worldwide, as reported by the World Health Organization. This is a true emergency that is leading researchers around the globe to question its causes, which, at least until this study, were unknown.
Over the years, many research teams have studied Alzheimer’s, trying to understand the mechanism that triggers it, since it gradually eats away at the memory, completely transforming the affected individual, to the enormous dismay of those who love them.
Caregivers, all those who surround the affected person, inexorably witness the upheaval of their lives and that of their loved one.
To date, the cause of this disease has never been discovered, but an interesting study, which we’ll discuss shortly, may have identified its origin. This would represent a major step forward in enabling timely intervention and a cure for this disease.
Experts have announced they’ve discovered the possible cause of Alzheimer’s. Let’s take a look at what they’ve discovered on the next page of our article, since there’s some big news coming and the disease is a serious scourge due to the sheer number of people affected each year.
A US research team from the Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center – Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, coordinated by Professor Paul Coleman, has advanced a hypothesis on the triggering cause of Alzheimer’s disease, which has long been a subject of curiosity among scientists, given the number of affected subjects worldwide.
The study in question believes that the pathology is based on a blockage in communication between the cell nucleus, where the DNA resides, and the cytoplasm, which includes everything present in the cells except the organelles and the nucleus.
The block in cellular transport would be caused by the accumulation in the brain of stress granules (SG), which are “membraneless cytoplasmic condensates containing untranslated mRNA, translation pre-initiation factors and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs)”.
These are aggregates of RNA and proteins that form in response to stress, which can be triggered by multiple factors, such as toxins from environmental pollution, the presence of pathogens, or malnutrition. Stress grains protect RNA and proteins and, accumulating in the brain, can gradually lead to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, or the death of neurons, which is the basis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists believe that recognizing and targeting these stress granules could represent a breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, as the disease has profound implications for society and future medical approaches. The details of the research, “Massive changes in gene expression and their cause(s) can be a unifying principle in the pathobiology of Alzheimer’s disease,” were published in the scientific journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
