- Brain Within a Brain? Nested Organoids a New Way to Study Human . . .
Could putting a tiny brain inside a larger brain help study disease? As far-fetched as the idea might sound, the approach could allow scientists to investigate human microglia in near-physiological conditions These cells are notoriously mercurial, changing gene expression to adapt to their
- Therapeutic Contenders Target Hard-to-Reach Pockets of Tau
At this year’s AD PD meeting, held March 5-9 in Lisbon, Portugal, no splashy Phase 3, or even Phase 2, data on tau-targeted therapies wowed attendees Still, Phase 1 and preclinical data showcased a variety of therapeutic approaches the field has latched onto to find treatments for tauopathies
- First Morsel of Results from DIAN Concurrent Amyloid and Tau Trial
The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network has been at the vanguard of AD immunotherapy development, launching the first secondary and primary prevention trials, as well as the first study of concurrent amyloid and tau therapy, Tau NexGen At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference
- Cell-Based Assay Matches Tau Strains to Neuropathological Diagnosis
Tau, Incorporated A library of tau mutants generated by alanine substitution (red residues, left), was transduced into biosensor cell lines containing pre-existing tau fibril strains The degree of incorporation of each mutant into the growing fibrils (middle) is measured via FRET (right) [Courtesy of Vaquer-Alicea et al , Science Advances
- Tau PET Aligns Spread of Pathology with Alzheimer’s Staging
Tau accumulates in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease, but also during normal aging Can PET scans tell the difference? Two recent papers say yes, and propose schemes for imaging-based staging that until now was possible only at autopsy As reported in the March 2 Neuron, scientists led by Bill
- MAPT | ALZFORUM
MAPT encodes the microtubule associated protein tau, a protein central to Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology Most pathogenic genetic variants in MAPT are not linked to Alzheimer’s disease, however They are associated with diseases in the frontotemporal dementia (FTD) spectrum Located in exons or introns, they generally alter the relative production of tau isoforms, and or lead to
- Better Diagnosis with Blood Test Detecting Only Tau Made in Brain
In the December 27 Brain, Karikari reported that plasma concentration of these brain-derived forms of tau (BD-tau) tracked with cerebrospinal fluid markers of amyloid plaques and of neurofibrillary tangles, with postmortem plaque and tangle load, and with cognitive test scores better than plasma total tau and neurofilament light, the currently available blood markers of neurodegeneration
- Phospho-tau tau Ratios: Better Markers than Absolute p-Tau Levels?
Tau isoforms measured included peptides phosphorylated at 10 residues: 111, 153, 175, 181, 199, 202, 205, 208, 217, and 231 Barthélemy calculated the p-tau tau ratios for each, using concentrations of non-phosphorylated fragments that spanned all 10 residues Which marker best predicted plaque load?
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