FINDINGS:        

UCLA researchers have uncovered what appears to be a natural protective mechanism against a central cause of neuronal death in Alzheimer's and similar neurodegenerative diseases. They discovered that a particular enzyme snips apart the abnormal tangles of protein called tau that are associated with cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's and similar diseases.

IMPACT:            

The study suggests it may be possible to use drugs to enhance that mechanism and alleviate the pathology of Alzheimer's and similar diseases.

AUTHORS:         

Stanislav L. Karsten, Daniel H. Geschwind and George R. Jackson of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles, Calif., are available for interviews.

JOURNAL:         

The research appears as the lead article in the Sept. 7 edition of the peer‑reviewed journal Neuron. It is titled "A Genomic Screen for Modifiers of Tauopathy Identifies Puromycin-Sensitive Aminopeptidase as an Inhibitor of Tau-Induced Neurodegeneration." The full article is available at http://www.neuron.org/current.

-UCLA-

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