This post is about Alzheimer’s though it’s likely of interest to those dealing with PSP and CBD, and of some interest to those dealing with LBD. Both PSP and CBD are tauopathies, or disorders of the protein tau. LBD is not a tauopathy but it commonly co-occurs with the largest tauopathy – Alzheimer’s Disease.
This Mayo Clinic press release from last Tuesday is focused on Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). AD is a disorder of two proteins – tau and amyloid. There has long been a dispute in the researcher community as to which tau or amyloid is the “culprit” in AD. (The two camps are called the tauists and the baptists. bap = beta amyloid protein.)
In this major study of 3600 donated brains at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Mayo researchers conclude that tau is the primary culprit. And efforts should focus on halting tau.
This is great news for the PSP and CBD communities because if researchers can solve the problem of tau building up, then they may be able to treat PSP and CBD.
At the link, there’s a one-minute video with Dr. Melissa Murray explaining the findings. I usually find such videos worthwhile but this one was too short and too much of a summary to be of interest to me. Your opinion may be different!
MAYO CLINIC PRESS RELEASE
24-MAR-2015
Mayo Clinic study of thousands of brains reveals tau as driver of Alzheimer’s disease
Robin