New antibodies target protein structures common to several neurological diseases
This is the finding of a study led by researchers from NYU School of Medicine and published online August 29 in Scientific Reports . The new study is based on decades of work arguing that the contribution to disease of key proteins -- amyloid beta and tau in Alzheimer's, alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's, and prion proteins in conditions like mad cow disease -- is driven by certain, toxic forms dominated by a common structure: bundles of "beta sheets" in clumped proteins. In tissues from autopsied patients with these diseases and in live mice, experiments demonstrated how the study antibodies target and remove only these toxic forms, say the authors, and without triggering the immune toxicity that has frustrated treatment development efforts to date. "In an atmosphere where countless treatments have failed in clinical trials over the last 15 years, the fact that our approach continues to be effective in rigorous tests should be of interest to our peers and...