RESEARCH: Antioxidant system discovered in Alzheimer's disease

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http://adc.kumc.edu/research/antioxident.html

Antioxidant system discovered in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers in the Alzheimer's Disease Center at KUMC have made recent

advances that have the potential to change medical understanding of

Alzheimer's disease and open new doors for treatment and prevention. We have

found a chemical system in the brain that may prevent the death of brain

cells from Alzheimer's disease. This finding necessitates expanded efforts

to discover ways to enhance this protective effect to possibly slow or

prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists have previously found that Alzheimer's disease is caused by the

formation of an abnormal protein called beta-amyloid, which is thought to

slowly poison the nerve cells of the brain. Presently, we do not know how

this abnormal protein is formed, but researchers have a number of ideas

about how this protein might poison the nerve cells.

A better understanding of beta-amyloid would lead to medications to prevent

cell death. Researchers working in our Alzheimer's Disease Center may have

found a clue to this process. Beta-amyloid is known to generate

" free-radicals " . These free-radicals are thought to attack the nerve cells,

causing repeated damage to the cells that finally leads to death.

Fortunately, the body has a number of natural enzymes that can absorb these

free radicals. One of these natural enzymes is called quinone oxidoreductase

(QR). It comes in two forms NQO1 and NQO2. We have found that NQO1 is

strikingly increased in the nerve cells of brains affected by Alzheimer's

disease and not in the nerve cells of normal brains.

This finding suggests that the brain is trying to fight free-radical damage

by the beta-amyloid. If this finding proves to be true, then we could

consider using medications which increase the natural amount of QR in the

brain and either prolong the course of Alzheimer's disease or protect

against the disease all together.

Dr. DeCarli, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center, and Dr.

SantaCruz, KUMC neuropathologist, are pursuing further studies on this

breakthrough. Special thanks go to the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Kansas

who have helped to fund these new studies.