Peptide promotes a healthy brain

The amyloid-ß peptide (Aß) is deposited in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and it is targeted in many potential treatments of the disease. Its actions and regulation in the living brain are not well understood. Now, researchers show that the levels of Aß peptide in the human brain are directly related to the neurological status of that individual, researchers report in the Aug. 28 issue of Science. David Brody and colleagues extracted interstitial brain fluid, which contains the Aß peptide and bathes the brain inside the skull, from 18 severely brain-injured patients using a technique called intracerebral microdialysis every hour or two. For several days, the researchers also monitored the patients’ brain waves and responses to various stimuli, and determined that Aß concentrations in the fluid increased as the patients improved, remained stable in clinically stable patients, and decreased when their clinical statuses worsened. These findings are in agreement with studies performed on mice in the past, and might offer new avenues for treatments of neurological disorders.

ARTICLE #21: "Amyloid-beta Dynamics Correlate with Neurological Status in the Injured Human Brain," by D.L. Brody; K.E. Schwetye; M. Spinner; T.J. Esparza; G.J. Zipfel; D.M. Holtzman at Washington University in St. Louis, MO; S. Magnoni; N. Stocchetti at Ospedale Maggiore di Milano in Milan, Italy; N. Stocchetti at Milan University in Milan, Italy.