Catching Calcium Waves Could Provide Alzheimer's Insights

New insights on what causes Alzheimers disease could arise from a recent discovery made by bioengineers from the University of California, San Diego. The finding concerns the infamous amyloid beta peptides (Aβ)—fragments of which form plaques thought to play a role in Alzheimers disease. The bioengineers found that amyloid beta peptides (Aβ) spontaneously trigger calcium waves in purified cultures of astrocyte cells extracted from the cortex region of rat brains and grown in the lab. These calcium waves could be relevant for understanding the origin of Alzheimers disease. The accumulation of Amyloid beta fragments and sustained disruption of the calcium balance within cells are leading hypotheses for what causes Alzheimers disease.

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Science & Technology

Tags:

• UC
• San
• Diego
• UCSD
• Bioengineering
• Jacobs
• School
• of
• Engineering
• Alzheimer's
• disease
• astrocytes
• glial
• cells

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