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From left: Amit Kumar, Research Specialist; Miriam Scarpa, Postdoctoral Fellow and Agneta Nordberg, Professor in the Department of Clinical Geriatrics, NVS. Photo: Privat, Igor Fontana, and Lennart Otberg.
Protein helps brain cells communicate
The researchers looked at a specific protein called SV2A, which is involved in how brain cells communicate. In Alzheimer's disease, loss of communication and brain cells is a big part of the problem.
UCB-J is like a detection tool that can track the SV2A and show if there is a problem. In the study, they tested it on the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease and compared them to normal brains. The results were promising, as UCB-J was able to detect problems in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
However, the study also found that UCB-J may face some problems arising from interaction with other proteins in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. This means that researchers need to be careful when using this tool in future studies.
Different techniques for studying minds
Researchers have used specialized techniques to study brains, such as post-mortem brain imaging and tests to detect specific proteins. The brain tissue they studied is rare and not easy to obtain, which makes this research even more important.
In simple terms, this study helps us understand more about the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease (synaptic loss) and how we can detect it early. It's like finding a new tool that might be useful in the future to help people with memory problems. Researchers are excited about these findings, and believe they could be a step toward better ways to manage Alzheimer's disease.
Publishing
“Tracking synapse loss in the Alzheimer's disease brain using the SV2A PET UCB-J tracerAmit Kumar, Miriam Scarpa, Anita Nordberg. Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia, online February 16, 2024. DOI: 10.1002/alz.13720.
For more information please contact:
Amit Kumarresearch specialist,
Department of Clinical Geriatrics, Department of Neuroscience, Health and Social Sciences, Karolinska Institutet
Email: [email protected]
Miriam Scarpapostdoctoral fellow,
Department of Clinical Geriatrics, Department of Neuroscience, Health and Social Sciences, Karolinska Institutet
Email: [email protected]
Agneta NordbergMr,
Department of Clinical Geriatrics, Department of Neuroscience, Health and Social Sciences, Karolinska Institutet
Phone: +46 8-524 827 52
Email: [email protected]
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