(Press-News.org) Scientists at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow are developing a technique based on a new discovery which could pave the way towards detecting Alzheimer's disease in its earliest stages - and could help to develop urgently-needed treatments.
The technique uses the ratio of detected fluorescence signals to indicate that clusters of peptide associated with the disease are beginning to gather and to have an impact on the brain.
Current techniques are not able to see the peptide joining together until more advanced stages but a research paper from Strathclyde describes an approach which could not only give indications of the condition far sooner than is currently possible but could also screen patients without the need for needles or wires.
Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, currently affects around 450,000 people in the UK alone and currently has no cure.
Dr Olaf Rolinski, of the University of Strathclyde's Department of Physics, led the research. He said: "Alzheimer's Disease has a devastating impact on people around the world and their families but one of the reasons it is still incurable is that little is known about how and why the peptide that contributes to the disease aggregates in its initial stages.
"When irradiated with light, the intrinsic fluorescence given off by the peptide is like a communication from a spy. We took samples of the peptide and discovered that, where they were in the type of aggregation linked to Alzheimer's, they produced fluorescence light signals which could be picked up with our technique much earlier than in more conventional experiments, such as those that use the addition of a dye .
"This approach could help us understand better the role of these peptides in the onset of Alzheimer's and discover ways in which the disease could be stopped in its tracks early on. We now want to take the research further so that it can be used in the development of drugs to treat Alzheimer's."
INFORMATION:
The research paper, by Dr Rolinski and colleagues Professor David Birch and research student Mariana Amaro, has been published in Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. The project forms part of a £5million Science and Innovation Award in molecular nanometrology, made in 2006, from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Scottish Funding Council.
Early warning system for Alzheimer's disease
2011-04-24
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Data miners dig for corrosion resistance
2011-04-24
A better understanding of corrosion resistance may be possible using a data-mining tool, according to Penn State material scientists. This tool may also aid research in other areas where massive amounts of information exist.
In data mining -- a branch of computer science -- computer programs categorize large amounts of data so they become more useful. Different types of data-mining programs can find correlations between data on specific subjects, or in different areas of a single subject. Data mining finds similarities and differences among data parameters that frequently, ...
HMV.com Announces Top Selling Movies, Games & Gadgets for April
2011-04-24
Online retailer HMV reveals the most popular gadgets, CDs, DVDs and video game titles available for pre-order and release during April through their online store at hmv.com.
Movies
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest DVD - Release date: 4th April 2011
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest is the explosive final installment of Stieg Larsson's trilogy which began with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Leading on from the conclusion of The Girl who Played with Fire, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is under police custody and about to face the murder trial that has ...
Study in roundworm chromosomes may offer new clues to tumor genome development
2011-04-24
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – A study of DNA rearrangements in roundworm chromosomes may offer new insight into large-scale genome duplications that occur in developing tumors.
A report of the research led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine scientists was published in the April 22 online edition of the journal Science. The study focused on telomeres, a region of repetitive DNA sequence that protects the ends of chromosomes from deterioration or from fusing with other chromosomes.
In many organisms, including humans, chromosome ends are capped by ...
Scientists engineer nanoscale vaults to encapsulate 'nanodisks' for drug delivery
2011-04-24
There's no question, drugs work in treating disease. But can they work better, and safer?
In recent years, researchers have grappled with the challenge of administering therapeutics in a way that boosts their effectiveness by targeting specific cells in the body while minimizing their potential damage to healthy tissue.
The development of new methods that use engineered nanomaterials to transport drugs and release them directly into cells holds great potential in this area. And while several such drug-delivery systems — including some that use dendrimers, liposomes ...
Deaths from drug overdose decline 35 percent after the opening of supervised injection site
2011-04-24
April 18, 2011 – Illicit drug overdose deaths declined dramatically after the establishment of North America's first supervised injection facility located in Vancouver, Canada, according to the findings of a groundbreaking new study published in The Lancet.
In the first peer-reviewed study to assess the impact of supervised injection sites on overdose mortality, researchers observed a 35% reduction in overdose deaths in the immediate vicinity of a pilot injection facility called Insite located in Vancouver, Canada, following its opening in September 2003. By contrast, ...
Carnegie Mellon researchers build time machine to visually explore space and time
2011-04-24
PITTSBURGH—Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute have leveraged the latest browser technology to create GigaPan Time Machine, a system that enables viewers to explore gigapixel-scale, high-resolution videos and image sequences by panning or zooming in and out of the images while simultaneously moving back and forth through time.
Viewers, for instance, can use the system to focus in on the details of a booth within a panorama of a carnival midway, but also reverse time to see how the booth was constructed. Or they can watch a group of plants sprout, ...
Purdue-led team studies Earth's recovery from prehistoric global warming
2011-04-24
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Earth may be able to recover from rising carbon dioxide emissions faster than previously thought, according to evidence from a prehistoric event analyzed by a Purdue University-led team.
When faced with high levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and rising temperatures 56 million years ago, the Earth increased its ability to pull carbon from the air. This led to a recovery that was quicker than anticipated by many models of the carbon cycle - though still on the order of tens of thousands of years, said Gabriel Bowen, the associate professor ...
Questions about Dental Bridges
2011-04-24
What is a dental bridge?
A dental bridge is a solution for missing teeth. Using a false tooth, a dental bridge is attached to two porcelain crowns and affixed to your adjacent teeth to hold it into place. Once in place, the false tooth restores symmetry, function, and beauty to your smile.
Can a dental bridge be used to replace several teeth?
Depending on how many teeth you need to have replaced, there are three different types of dental bridges. Traditional fixed bridges and cantilever bridges can be used to replace several missing teeth at one time. Resin-bonded ...
Are dietary supplements working against you?
2011-04-24
Do you belong to the one-half of the population that frequently uses dietary supplements with the hope that it might be good for you?
Well, according to a study published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, there seems to be an interesting asymmetrical relationship between the frequency of dietary supplement use and the health status of individuals. Wen-Bin Chiou of National Sun Yat-Sen University decided to test if frequent use of dietary supplements had ironic consequences for subsequent health-related ...
Can Your Dentist Help Your Headaches?
2011-04-24
Headaches are one of the more common medical complaints people have. Headaches can range from annoying to debilitating. Another problem with headaches is that they can be chronic, returning day after day. Despite their frequency, it can be very hard to track down the cause of headaches.
If you have been to one or more doctors to seek help with your headaches, but have been able to get a true diagnosis and successful headache treatment, perhaps you need to go in a different direction. Perhaps you need a dentist.
Could Your Teeth Be Causing Your Headaches?
Where ...