Last week, the NY Times published an interesting article on the cause of Alzheimer’s Disease. The article describes experiments in a new mouse model which may confirm, once and for all, that the tau protein is responsible for the “spread” of the disease from cell to cell. There are hundreds of papers in the literature attempting to explain the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s Disease, like this, and this, and this…the list is seemingly endless.
What we found intriguing is this:
But if tau spreads from neuron to neuron, Dr. Hardy said, it may be necessary to block both beta amyloid production, which seems to get the disease going, and the spread of tau, which continues it, to bring Alzheimer’s to a halt [Emphasis added].
In other words, from a therapeutic perspective, we may need both blockade of beta amyloid production AND tau-induced “spreading” of disease. This is not news, as cholinesterase inhibitors and memantine are often used in combination for moderate to severe disease. Hopefully, these studies will help sharpen research efforts for a disease that’s growing in prevalence at at alarmingly rapid pace.