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Blood Flow to the Brain Gets Blocked by Alzheimer’s Plaque

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Researchers found the walls of the brain's small arteries are also affected in Alzheimer's, reducing blood flow. Learn about this new treatment target. (Video+Article)

A breakthrough in our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease has revealed changes to blood vessels in the brain, potentially presenting a path for developing new drugs to help fight the disease, according to University of Manchester research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and published in June 2022 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)1.

Article continued below video…

Alzheimer’s Disease is traditionally thought of as a disease of the brain cells, where a protein called Amyloid-beta (Aβ) accumulates and forms plaques. There is growing evidence that the blood supply to the brain is also affected, however, how this happens is unknown.

Now, researchers at the University of Manchester have found that a smaller version of the protein – called Amyloid-β 1-40 (Aβ 1-40) – builds up in the walls of the small arteries and reduces blood flow to the brain.

The pial arteries

The surface of the brain is covered with small arteries, called pial arteries, that control the brain’s supply of blood and oxygen. If these arteries become narrowed for too long, the brain can’t get enough nutrients. This is one of the causes of memory loss seen in people with the disease.

When the team looked at pial arteries of older mice with Alzheimer’s that produced too much Aβ1-40, they found that the arteries were narrower compared to those of healthy mice.

This narrowing was found to be caused by Aβ 1-40 switching off a protein called BK in cells lining blood vessels. When it is working normally, BK sends a signal which causes arteries to widen.

To confirm that Aβ 1-40 stopped BK from working properly, they soaked healthy pial arteries in Aβ 1-40 and measured the signals sent by the BK protein after one hour. Aβ 1-40 weakened these signals, which caused the arteries to narrow.

Opening the door to new research

The researchers now plan to investigate which part of Aβ 1-40 blocks the BK protein, so drugs to stop this from happening can be developed and tested as a much-needed treatment to prevent Alzheimer’s disease from progressing and save people the heartache of losing their memory.

Dr Adam Greenstein, lead BHF-funded researcher and Clinical Senior Lecturer in Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Manchester said, “To date, over 500 drugs have been trialled as a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. All of them have targeted the nerves in the brain and none of them have been successful. By showing exactly how Alzheimer’s disease affects the small blood vessels, we have opened the door to new avenues of research to find an effective treatment.”

Professor Metin Avkiran, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation added, “This research is an important step forward in our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease. More than half a million people in the UK are living with the condition, and that number is set to rise as our population gets older.

“These findings could lead to a desperately needed treatment for this devastating condition.”

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P. Berger

This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.

It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. it has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.

The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.

Peter Berger, Editor

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This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.

It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. it has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.

The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.

Peter Berger, Editor

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This site was inspired by my Mom’s autoimmune dementia.

It is a place where we separate out the wheat from the chafe, the important articles & videos from each week’s river of news. Google gets a new post on Alzheimer’s or dementia every 7 minutes. That can overwhelm anyone looking for help. This site filters out, focuses on and offers only the best information. It has helped hundreds of thousands of people since it debuted in 2007. Thanks to our many subscribers for your supportive feedback.

The site is dedicated to all those preserving the dignity of the community of people living with dementia.

Peter Berger, Editor

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