Brain Power Outage

Power Outage in the Brain Could Be Source of Alzheimer’s

NEUROSCIENCE NEWSNOVEMBER 7, 2016

Summary: A new study appears to build on the previous research that suggests genetic mutations which affect mitochondria function could be critical to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Source: Arizona State University.

Mitochondria are membrane-bound organelles present in eukaryotic cells. Their essential role is to supply cells with energy in the form of ATP. Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in a range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s. NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Kelvinsong.

On Nov. 25, 1901, a 51-year-old woman is admitted to a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, displaying a bizarre constellation of symptoms. Her behavior is erratic. She shows signs of paranoia as well as auditory hallucinations, disorientation, and severe memory impairment. Asked to write her own name, she manages “Mrs.,” then lingers over the page, unable to remember the rest. “I have lost myself,” she tells the attending physician.

Over time, she will withdraw into her own inscrutable universe, before dying on April 9, 1906.

The tragic case of Auguste Deter might have vanished into the recesses of medical history, but for the following fact. Her doctor, Alois Alzheimer, made a thorough examination of her medical condition, including her excised brain, discovering the telltale amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles characteristic of her illness. Auguste Deter was the first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease./.../
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Power outage in the brain may be source of Alzheimer's

Restoring damaged genes linked to mitochondrial function may offer strategy for halting disease advance

Date:

November 9, 2016

Source:

Arizona State University

Summary:

In a new study, researchers investigate the role of mitochondria in Alzheimer's disease pathology. Mitochondria act as energy centers for cells and are of central importance in health and disease. The study builds on earlier work suggesting gene mutations affecting mitochondrial function may be critical in the development of the disease.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Arizona State University. Original written by Richard Harth, Science writer, Biodesign Institute at ASU. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

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Journal Reference:

1. Diego Mastroeni, Omar M. Khdour, Elaine Delvaux, Jennifer Nolz, Gary Olsen, Nicole Berchtold, Carl Cotman, Sidney M. Hecht, Paul D. Coleman. Nuclear but not mitochondrial-encoded OXPHOS genes are altered in aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's and Dementia, 2016; DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2016.09.003