Alzheimer Neuron Death Observed:

Using Zebra Fish Cell Larvae to Map the Course.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD), also known as Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (SDAT) is the most common form of dementia, usually diagnosed in people over the age of 65. Alzheimer's causes this dementia by causing extensive neuron death in the brain, leading to memory loss, loss of motor skills, speech impediment, change in other areas of mental function, and will eventually result in death.

Previously the only way to observe this devastation was to perform autopsies on animals after the disease had taken it's final toll and using difficult procedures. This drastically hindered the information available on exactly how the AD achieved this mass scale neuron death, but recent studies conducted by Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Disease at LMU Munich have successfully developed a way to observe the progression of Alzheimer's cell death using life imagery.
The researchers achieved this by inserting a gene that leads to severe Alzheimer's into a zebra fish, and then use the translucent larvae to observe the symptoms. Dyes can be used on the neurons in the larvae to observe their death as it actually happens.

This discovery will be used in various ways to aide sufferers of Alzheimer's, one of the mos important being the testing of drugs to aide in hindering the progression of neuron death in patients. Previously the symptoms and progression of the disease had been very difficult to pinpoint, almost impossible until after the patient had died This made the discovery of drugs to aide patients very difficult. With approximately 12 to 18 million Alzheimer's patients around the world, this advancement will have a very large impact on the management and hopeful cure of this prevalent disease. Already, researchers at the German Centre of Neurodegenerative Disease at LMU have used the fish larvae to trial possible aides, "One drug did have an effect in the living fish – and was able to block the disease-related processes in the zebra fish at least to some extent.” (Professor Christian Haass, head of the research department at LMU, Munich.)

By Kade Anderson

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References:

Article:
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen (LMU) (2009, April 15). "Alzheimer Cell Death In Zebrafish: Demise Of Neurons Observed Live For The First Time". ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090413180542.htm

Picture:

Alzheimer's Association (2009) "More Brain Changes" www.alz.org/brain/images/09a.jpg

Accessed 15th April 2009

Other Reference:
OurAlzheimer's.com (2009) "Alzheimer's Disease" http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/introduction-2542-108.html Accessed 15th April 2009