English: Drawing comparing how a brain of an Alzheimer disease patient is affected to a normal brain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A quick sniff of a nasal spray sends microscopic metal particles into the brain, where they target and destroy the damaging proteins of Alzheimer’s disease.
No Alzheimer’s? No problem—the metal particles pass out of the body safely. Such is the promise of technology being developed by neuroscientist William Klein and nanotechnologist Vinayak Dravid of Northwestern University. The pair has invented a nanotech-based early-detection system that might one day deliver targeted treatments.
Klein and Dravid created an antibody—an immune molecule that detects specific chemical structures—that binds to a particle implicated in Alzheimer’s. They linked the antibody to a nanoscale arrangement of iron oxide compounds, similar to rust, which can be seen with magnetic resonance imaging. The brain scan could detect the disease early on, so patients can start treatment sooner than they can today. “Once the chain reaction of negative events starts, it’s like a lit fuse. You want to intervene as soon as possible,” Klein says.
Globs of beta-amyloid protein called plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. But these days most neuroscientists agree that a tiny particle form of the same protein, called an oligomer, is the primary toxin in the illness. Eventually these smaller structures glom together to form plaques, but by then they have already damaged brain cells. The antibody created at Northwestern binds to the toxic oligomers and could one day deliver therapies to the brain or help clinicians evaluate how a patient is responding to a new medication.
The Latest Bing News on:
Alzheimer’s Disease
- Timothy Huang receives $2.8 million to continue research on Alzheimer's diseaseon August 2, 2022 at 4:45 pm
Timothy Huang, Ph.D., has been awarded $2.8 million by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to continue his work on Alzheimer's disease.
- Microvascular disease and Alzheimer's associated with more white matter damage, more inflammationon August 2, 2022 at 2:09 pm
Disease of the microscopic blood vessels that feed the white matter of our brain is associated with worse cognitive function and memory deficits in individuals with Alzheimer's, scientists report.
- Timothy Huang awarded $2.8M to study well-known gene linked to Alzheimer’s diseaseon August 2, 2022 at 1:14 pm
Timothy Huang, Ph.D., has been awarded $2.8 million by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to continue his work on Alzheimer’s disease. The four-year project will use human stem cells transplanted ...
- Common viruses may be triggering the onset of Alzheimer's diseaseon August 2, 2022 at 11:39 am
Two common viruses lie dormant in neurons -- herpes simplex virus (HSV), and varicella zoster virus (VZV). Lab models of the human brain show that activation or re-infection of VZV can trigger ...
- Detailed Data From the Phase II Crenezumab Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative Study in Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer’s Disease Presented at AAICon August 2, 2022 at 8:03 am
As previously reported, numerical differences favoring crenezumab over placebo were confirmed across the co-primary, multiple secondary and exploratory endpoints, none statistically significant ...
- Microscopic blood vessel disease in the brain's white matter associated with worse cognition in Alzheimer'son August 2, 2022 at 1:16 am
Disease of the microscopic blood vessels that feed the white matter of our brain is associated with worse cognitive function and memory deficits in individuals with Alzheimer's, scientists report.
- The Woman's Doctor: Alzheimer's Disease is twice as common in womenon August 1, 2022 at 6:50 am
In this Woman's Doctor segment, we discuss Alzheimer's Disease. It is twice as common in women compared to men.
- This doctor reversed heart disease. Now he wants to do it for Alzheimer'son August 1, 2022 at 5:30 am
... can slow the rate of progression of dementia and Alzheimer's. So, my hypothesis is that more intense lifestyle changes could stop or even reverse the decline." The original study on heart disease ...
- The fight against Alzheimer's: Where are we now?on July 31, 2022 at 9:32 pm
An additional 42 genes connected to the development of Alzheimer's disease were discovered in 2022, bringing the total to 75. Shortly after that revelation, yet another gene called MGMT was ...
- One-two punch from pair of common viruses may trigger Alzheimer’s diseaseon July 31, 2022 at 8:10 pm
A fascinating new collaborative study, between researchers at the University of Oxford and Tufts University, has found two common viruses may be working in tandem to trigger the earliest stages of ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
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Nanotech-based early-detection system
- Taiwan Startup Molsentech Ultra-high Sensitivity Biomedical Detection Technology Leaps Onto Global Stageon July 28, 2022 at 8:00 pm
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- Low-abundance biomarker detection platform for early disease diagnosison July 26, 2022 at 5:00 pm
"That's the beauty of the system using ELFA-saturated ELFP substrate and counting-based method ... could be extremely useful for early-stage detection of diseases and treatment.
- Biosensor Market Analysis by Key Type and Applications, Industry Growth Factors and Business Forecast 2027on July 26, 2022 at 6:29 am
Some of the key driving factors of the global biosensors market are the emergence of nanotechnology-based biosensors ... biosensors may help in the early detection of health events and avoid ...
- Global Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 18.7% By 2032: Visiongain Reports Ltdon July 22, 2022 at 1:16 am
Nanotechnology is Being Employed for a Wide Range of Drug Delivery Applications Nanotechnologies are making a big contribution in this field by offering innovative drug delivery systems ... can ...
- Radar Technology Company Xandar Kardian and TapestryHealth Announce Strategic Partnership to Provide Specialized Remote Patient Monitoringon July 21, 2022 at 7:22 am
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establishing the dual-mode detection system. Russia has advanced in debris tracking, early warning, and environmental monitoring, creating the Tree Canopy system. Overall, advanced space-based ...
