A Putrid Problem: Astrocytic Urea Cycle in Alzheimer’s?
In astrocytes, Aβ revs up urea metabolism, spitting out the intermediate putrescine. This gets turned into the neurotransmitter GABA, which blunts synaptic transmission and memory in mice.
NEWS
Astrocyte-to-Neuron Conversion Questioned
A spate of recent studies could not replicate the finding that knocking down the RNA-binding protein PTBP1 in astrocytes triggers their conversion to neurons. Leaky expression of the knockdown construct in endogenous neurons may be to blame.
Destined to Decline: Plaque-Tangle Combo Foretells Impairment
Cognitively normal people whose PET scans showed both plaques and tangles slid toward MCI or dementia within a few years. This risk was 19 times higher than in people without these deposits.
Astrocyte Reactivity: Opposing States Emerge
Astrocytes react differently depending on the type of insult or injury inflicted upon the brain. Two studies identified transcriptional regulators controlling astrocyte responses.
Digital Tools Abound, Yet Remote Biomarkers for FTD Remain Exploratory
At the Holloway Summit, scientists, regulatory, and foundation leaders discussed how to advance digital biomarkers from the idea stage into standardized, reliable tools for diagnosis and trials.
Digital Biomarkers of FTD: How to Move from Tech Tinkering to Trials?
The inaugural Holloway Summit, hosted by AFTD, focused on the development of digital health technologies to track the progression of FTD’s myriad manifestations.
C1q Shows Promise as Therapeutic Target to Stop Synapse Loss
A C1q antibody hit its target in a small Phase 2 Huntington’s trial, while indirect inhibition of C1q restored synaptic density in Alzheimer’s model mice.
TMEM175 Maintains Lysosome pH by Pushing Out Protons
While TMEM175 ushers potassium ions out of neutral lysosomes, it shuttles protons out of acidic ones. Sans TMEM175, lysosomes become too “tart,” and stop working. Two papers say so.
SPOTLIGHT
Destined to Decline: Plaque-Tangle Combo Foretells Impairment
Having both amyloid plaques and tau tangles destines a cognitively intact person to decline within the next few years. Cognitively normal adults with plaques and tangles declined faster than those without either pathology, and faster than those with only plaques. Over 3.5 years, people with plaques and tangles had 15 to 20 times higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
Greasing the Wheels to Digital Biomarkers for FTD
Changes in activity, speech, sleep, or the way a person moves are all examples of measurements that can be captured remotely using digital tools. If transformed into digital biomarkers, such remote measures could dramatically improve diagnosis and the testing of potential treatments in FTD. At the inaugural Holloway Summit held in Miami last month, leaders in FTD research, industry, foundations, and technology discussed how to transform the tools already available into standardized digital biomarkers.
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