In the Fight Against Alzheimer's, Down Syndrome May Hold Vital Clues

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has allocated a research grant to investigate the effects of the mTOR protein complex in people with Down syndrome (DS), seeking insights into Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology, reports Medical Xpress . Irregularities in mTOR functioning incur two distinct neuropathologies: accumulation in the brain of plaques composed of the protein amyloid beta, and depositions of the tau protein that clump within neuronal cell bodies, forming neurofibrillary tangles. Plaques and tangles, which are classic hallmarks of AD, also manifest in the brains of virtually all persons with DS. The NIH-funded study aims to address whether disruption of the mTOR pathway offers hints as to the development of plaques and tangles and the onset of dementia in both DS and AD. The researchers also will seek a link between mTOR dysregulation and necroptosis, which also is implicated in AD and DS pathology. The most important goal of the research will be to explore whether molecular drivers of AD pathology in people with DS yield new insights into the early mechanisms underlying the development of sporadic Alzheimer's.