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Home > QR-E-Letter Archive > 9-15-2005
Issue No. 15 September 15, 2005
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QUICK REFERENCE #24: The brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease have an abundance of which two abnormal structures?
“The brains of AD patients have an abundance of two abnormal structures--beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. This is especially true in certain regions of the brain that are important in memory. Plaques are dense, mostly insoluble (cannot be dissolved)
deposits of protein and cellular material outside and around the neurons. Tangles are insoluble twisted fibers that build up inside the nerve cell. Though many older people develop some plaques and tangles, the brains
of AD patients have them to a much greater extent.”
Amyloid Plaques
”Plaques are made of beta-amyloid, a protein fragment snipped from a larger protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP). These fragments clump together and are mixed with other molecules, neurons, and non-nerve cells. In AD, plaques develop in the hippocampus, a structure deep in the brain that helps to encode memories, and in other areas of the
cerebral cortex that are used in thinking and making decisions. We still don’t know whether beta-amyloid plaques themselves cause AD or whether they are a by-product of the AD process."
Neurofibrillary Tangles
“Healthy neurons have an internal support
structure partly made up of structures called microtubules. These microtubules act like tracks, guiding nutrients and molecules from the body of the cell down to the ends of the axon and back. A special kind of protein, tau, makes the microtubules stable. In AD, tau is changed chemically. It begins to pair with other threads of tau and they become tangled up together. When this happens, the microtubules disintegrate, collapsing the neuron’s transport system. This may result first in malfunctions in communication between neurons and later in the death of the cells.”
Source: Alzheimer's Disease: Unraveling the Mystery (National Institute on Aging). The "60-page publication uses illustrations and nontechnical language to present the latest research findings and basic science behind AD [Alzheimer's disease].” It can be accessed on the Web at http://www.alzheimers.org/unraveling.
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