Newswise — CLEVELAND—Case Western Reserve University researchers studying prions—misfolded proteins that cause lethal incurable diseases—have identified for the first time surface features of human prions responsible for their replication in the brain.
The ultimate goal of the research is to help design a strategy to stop prion disease in humans—and, ultimately, to translate new approaches to work on Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Scientists have yet to discover the exact cause of Alzheimer’s disease, but largely agree that protein issues play a role in its emergence and progression. Alzheimer’s disease afflicts more than 6 million people in the U.S., and the Alzheimer’s Association estimates that their care will cost an estimated $355 billion this year.
Research was done at the Safar Laboratory in the Department of Pathology and the…
