"Why Our Ancestors Were Protected From Alzheimer’s" - Ashley Ross
Researchers have been studying ways to find genetic mutations linked with beta-amyloid production or drugs to target the protein before it causes too much damage. Two Harvard researchers focusing on Alzheimer’s, are looking at the protein in a different way. They discovered the amyloid-beta protein actually plays a role in the brain by protecting the brain against infection. This just so happen to connect with the body’s ancient immune system. “I was totally gobsmacked when I first heard this story. I was very skeptical,” said Samuel Gandy, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and associate director of Mount Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. But research Dr. Gandy has since seen out of Mount Sinai and Banner Alzheimer's Center in Phoenix made him think the researchers might be onto something. There are also other amyloids in the body—in semen, that can help block HIV—that strengthen the researcher’s model regarding the likelihood that something similar happens in the brain, Dr. Gandy said.
- Samuel Gandy, MD, PhD, Professor, Neurology, Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Associate Director, Mount Sinai Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center