Researchers exploring dementia-related proteins in the brain identified Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) as a key misfolded protein. About 25% of individuals, and 50% of individuals with Alzheimer disease, have a genetic mutation, the APOE ε4 allele — a known risk factor for the disease. The researchers were surprised to find that even in the brains of patients without the disease-driving APOE ε4 allele, ApoE proteins were strongly enriched in dementia. Their findings appear in The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier.
“Dementia is very complex, but you can simplify it: the disease is caused by ‘gloppy proteins’ in the brain,” explained lead investigator Peter T. Nelson, MD, PhD, Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and Department of Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA. “I’m not making light of it — these ‘sticky’ misfolded proteins often end up destroying the…
