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U researchers find memory loss trigger in brain
U scientist Karen Ashe has found what may be the cause of memory loss in Alzheimer's disease.
Maura Lerner, Star Tribune


University of Minnesota researcher Dr. Karen Ashe holds a mouse involved in a memory study.
Richard Sennott, Star Tribune

For the first time, researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered a substance in the brain that causes memory loss, and could be key to fighting Alzheimer's disease at its earliest stages.
Dr. Karen Ashe, head of the university's Center for Memory Research, was able to detect the memory-robbing protein in mice that were bred to mimic Alzheimer's disease.
If it works the same way in people, she said, scientists may be able to design drugs to stop the disease in its tracks, before it causes permanent damage.
"This is actually the culmination of 14 years of work, so I'm very excited about it," said Ashe, an internationally known Alzheimer's expert who led the research.
Ashe and her team found that an abnormal protein, which they named an "a-beta star," made otherwise healthy lab rats forgetful and lose their way in a maze. The protein was taken from the brains of mice that were genetically designed to have memory problems, and injected into the rats.
The effects were reversed once the injections stopped, the scientists will report in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.
At this point, they can't be sure if that's the cause of Alzheimer's disease, Ashe said. But the study suggests this is a likely culprit in memory loss, and that it's most likely involved in early stages of the disease.
"I think it's clearly a key finding in the field," said Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center in Rochester. "The hopeful sign of this is that this may be reversible."
Dr. Sam Gandy, a Philadelphia neurologist and advisor to the Alzheimer's Association, said it may influence the way other scientists approach the disease.
"I think it changes the focus," he said. "This now will be the target."
For a long time, scientists thought Alzheimer's was caused by the abnormal clusters of proteins, known as plaques and tangles, found in the brains of patients. But researchers haven't been able to show a cause-and-effect with memory loss, Gandy said.
Ashe said the newly discovered protein has been found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, although that research has not been published yet.
At the moment, there is no way of testing for the abnormal protein in living patients. But she's confident that will change.
"We still have work to do, but it's just a matter of time," she said. "It's not whether its going to happen, it's when."
Maura Lerner •612-673-7384