A new cause of Alzheimer's disease has been found
Scientists have discovered that in the white matter of the brain, which is made up of myelinated axons, a special kind of cell death accelerates cognitive decline.Scientists have discovered that a unique type of cell death due to iron toxicity creates a snowball effect that accelerates cognitive decline. Thanks to this discovery, there may be a whole new approach to treating dementia.
In the study, researchers at Oregon Health & Science University found that ferroptosis, a type of cell death caused by iron accumulation, destroys immune cells in the brain in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.
A study of postmortem brain tissue from dementia patients showed that the brain's immune cells, microglia, die doing the job of scavenging "unwanted" cells. However, in this case, that "junk" was iron-rich myelin particles. Myelin forms a protective layer around nerves and is damaged by neurological stress. This leads to ferroptosis - the death of microglial cells in the white matter of the brain.
"Everyone knows that microglia are activated to mediate inflammation. But no one knew they were dying in such large numbers. It's just surprising that we didn't notice it sooner," the study authors write.
Although suppressing ferroptosis has been considered a treatment target for Alzheimer's disease before, the new discovery will come in handy for developing new treatments that can slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
"We missed a major form of cell death in Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. We have not paid enough attention to microglia as vulnerable cells and damage to the white matter of the brain," the scientists emphasize.
The researchers believe that their results should be paid attention to pharmaceutical companies and develop compounds that will limit the degeneration of microglia.
The study was published in the journal Annals of Neurology.