Studying Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and AgingSeptember 11, 2003Studying Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and Aging Human Brain Proteome Project: Defining of Standards and Tasks Proteins serve as Biomarkers of Neurodegenerative Diseases One of the main challenges of this century is the understanding of our brain: Why are we getting senile? Which proteins are altered or modified in brain and spinal cord in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease? The HUPO Human Brain Proteome Project, coordinated by Prof. Dr. Helmut E. Meyer, Medical Proteom-Center of the Ruhr-University Bochum, and Prof. Dr. Dr. Joachim Klose, Charité, Campus Virchow-Klinikum of the Humbold-University Berlin, will address these questions. More than 45 scientists from Europe and the US got together for the 1st HUPO HBPP Workshop in Düsseldorf from 5th to 6th of September, 2003. In the beginning of October, this project will be presented at the 2nd World Congress of the Human Proteome Organisation (HUPO) in Montreal. Samples from one source for standardisation The analysis of the human brain proteome will start immediately after this workshop with the acquisition and distribution of adequate samples and the subsequent identification of brain specific proteins. The focus will be on Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and Aging including disease related brain areas and body fluids (cerebrospinal fluid, plasma). In a pilot phase, participants will study brain tissue from mice of three different developmental stages in a quantitative proteome analysis leading to an assessment of the quality of different techniques as well as to a feeding of proteome databases with reliable data. In addition, a comparison between biopsy and autopsy tissue of human brains will be done to evaluate protein stability in post mortem tissue. According to international standardisation initiatives, e.g. the Brain-Net Europe and the HUPO standardisation initiative PSI, recommendations concerning sample preparation, methods and data format were elaborated. Integration of companies was addressed and discussed extensively. Furthermore, five committees were formed, namely Executive Committee, Specimen Collection and Handling Committee, Technology Platforms and Standardization Committee, Database and Bioinformatics and Training and Education Committee. Genetic information alone is not sufficient "Deciphering the human genome alone is not sufficient to understand complex cell processes as aging or neurodegenerative diseases, e.g. Parkinson's Disease or Alzheimer's Disease", explains Prof. Dr. Helmut E. Meyer. The protein complement, the proteome, remains unknown since one can not deduce which mRNA is translated into protein. Additionally, alternative splicing and posttranslational modifications increase the number of putative protein species. The most promising approach to develop new diagnosis and therapies strategies therefore is the analysis of the whole proteome of a cell or of a tissue and the comparison between healthy and diseased brains. With the help of this inventory scientists hope to identify protein markers of early disease stages: Certain proteins, e.g. in Alzheimer patients could be changed in amount or modified and might therefore serve as a warning signal even before symptoms can be detected. Ruhr-Universität-Bochum |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Alzheimer Disease Current Events and Alzheimer Disease News Articles Delirium in hospitalized adults: Situation critical, no relief available Every year as many as seven million adults in the United States experience delirium during hospitalization. New data demonstrate potential for early detection of Alzheimer's disease Data published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease demonstrated that minimally-invasive biospectroscopy was able to identify changes in oxidative stress (OS) levels in blood plasma, which may prove to be a useful biomarker in the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. Another McGill/JGH breakthrough opens door to early Alzheimer's diagnosis A new diagnostic technique which may greatly simplify the detection of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered by researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH). Measuring brain atrophy in patients with mild cognitive impairment Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have shown that a fully automated procedure called Volumetric MRI - which measures the "memory centers" of the brain and compares them to expected size - is effective in predicting the progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease. Commonly used medications may produce cognitive impairment in older adults Many drugs commonly prescribed to older adults for a variety of common medical conditions including allergies, hypertension, asthma, and cardiovascular disease appear to negatively affect the aging brain causing immediate but possibly reversible cognitive impairment, including delirium, in older adults. Commonly used ulcer drugs may offer treatment potential in Alzheimer's disease In a new study, published in the May issue of Elsevier's Experimental Neurology, scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat ulcers have significant neuroprotective properties, which appear to be enhanced when used in combination with ibuprofen, a widely used anti-inflammatory drug. New test for mysterious metabolic diseases developed at Stanford/Packard Scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a much-needed way to monitor and find treatments for a mysterious and devastating group of metabolic diseases that arise from mutations in cells' fuel-burning mechanism. Recalibrating 'fight or flight' A Canadian/U.S. research team has reported a novel approach to stimulating recovery from chronic stress disorders. Details of the therapeutic model, which exploits the natural dynamics of the body's "fight or flight" system, are published January 23 in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology Vitamin B does not slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer's A clinical trial led by Paul S. Aisen, M.D., professor of neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, showed that high-dose vitamin B supplements did not slow the rate of cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease. Protecting patient privacy the new fashioned way Protecting patient privacy has been recognized as the duty of health-care providers for about as long as doctors have seen patients. In 1996 that duty became a legal obligation when Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. More Alzheimer Disease Current Events and Alzheimer Disease News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||