This post is about tau protein. Tau is the protein involved in PSP, CBD, and Alzheimer’s Disease.
This Wall Street Journal article is on researcher Claude Wischik, tau protein, and Alzheimer’s research. Dr. Wischik “has long backed a minority view: that a protein in the brain called tau – not plaque – is largely responsible” for Alzheimer’s. Since this article is from the WSJ, there is an investment focus to part of the article.
For me, the most interesting part of the article was one sentence in parentheses. Dr. Wischik founded a company called TauRX Pharmaceuticals. They did a small study of a tau drug, called Rember, in Alzheimer’s patients. They never published the full results. “(Dr. Wischik says it didn’t to protect the company’s commercial interests.)”
There’s also a 5-minute video that focuses on the tau vs. amyloid debate. (This is sometimes called the “tauists vs. the BAPtists.” BAP = beta amyloid protein.) I’d recommend watching the video and then reviewing the article, if you are still interested.
Robin
5-minute video (after 15-second ad) on tau tangles, why Dr. Wischik focused on tau, why the rest of the community focused on amyloid, and what else is going on besides protein accumulation:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 … bs%3Dvideo
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087 … %3Darticle
(I was able to view the full article this morning though it’s listed as “subscriber content only.” Probably this website error will be fixed soon)
HEALTH INDUSTRY
Updated November 9, 2012
Wall Street Journal
An Outcast Among Peers Gains Traction on Alzheimer’s Cure
By Jeanne Whalen
Some people collect stamps, others vintage cars. As a young Ph.D. student at Cambridge University in the 1980s, Claude Wischik was on a mission to collect brains. …