New Discoveries Predict Ability to Forecast Dementia From Single Molecule

A new study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center published in eLife demonstrated that single toxic tau proteins that clump and spread degeneration across the brains of people with dementia have different configurations, reports ScienceDaily . The folds of these molecules contain information that could help diagnose, and possibly eventually treat, early-onset neurodegeneration. The study builds on earlier research documenting a structural "genesis" of Alzheimer's. According to the new study, a single tau molecule that changes shape at the start of the disease process has the information for determining the configuration of the toxic assemblies, suggesting the characterization of the conformation of single tau molecules could predict what nascent disease, whether Alzheimer's or other kinds of dementia, is happening. The team is attempting to translate these findings into clinical tests that examine blood or spinal fluid to spot the first biomarkers of the abnormal tau, before the symptoms of memory loss and cognitive decline manifest. They also are focused on developing treatments to stabilize shape-shifting tau molecules, prevent them from clumping, or encourage their purging from the brain.