Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Fish brains and Alzheimers

Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the Technische Universitat Dresden are looking at zebra-fish in hopes to shed light on some Alzheimer treatments. An article from ScienceDaily is reporting that by looking at the zebra-fish, and specifically the amyloid-b aggregates we can see how we can regenerate brain tissue. Because zebra-fish are able to regenerate tissue much better than humans the researchers are hoping that we can translate that over to mammals and eventually humans and regenerate brain cells.

When the researchers were studying the zebra-fish they challenged the brains with toxic amyloid-b, which is characteristic of Alzheimers, and some of the populations of fish increased proliferation and produced new cells. They also noted that the molecular programs of each cell population changed in response to the amyloid. The next step is to now try and identify the genes that can start such a regeneration. After that they need to try and find the mammalian equivalents which will take even more work. They are hopeful that this can lead to a new and better approach to Alzheimer's
in humans.

3 comments:

  1. It seems like there's still a lot of work ahead of these researchers in figuring out how to regenerate human brain cells but at least they are starting somewhere. It's hard to imagine how studying zebra-fish and their regeneration can assist with humans but if it ends up shedding light on more treatments or better treatments for Alzheimer's then I'm all for it. Luckily, Alzheimer's doesn't run in my family, at least not that I know of, but I have seen other people go through the struggle of watching loved ones suffer with it.

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  2. It definitely seems like it is just the beginning in terms of research,and the researchers have much more to go before they reach conclusive results, however after reading the article, the prospect of somehow using these fish to find effective treatment for Alzheimer's seems very promising. It is amazing that the fish are able to combat the degenerative disease at such a fast rate, and it seems that if humans were only able to grasp what it was that helps the fish have these regenerating properties, we would be that much closer to better treatment for Alzheimer's.

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  3. Scientist seem to very close to finding a cure and a links to Alzheimer's disease. There are treatments for Alzheimers that slow down the progression if caught early. I was reading an article that scientist are now linking the herpes virus to Alzheimer's.

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