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We're talking about health issues associated with aging this week on Healthwatch. Alzheimer's disease strikes older adults, tarnishing the golden years by diminishing memory and mental function. Researchers are still trying to find cures, but scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have made a breakthrough.
Alzheimer's disease develops when too much of a particular protein is produced. Doctors know which enzyme produces the protein, but that enzyme has a lot of other functions essential to life, so blocking the effects of that enzyme won't work.
Dr. Gang Yu, a UT Southwestern cell biologist, says his team has found that just one portion of the enzyme produces the protein responsible for Alzheimer's disease. With this knowledge, researchers may be able to develop treatments that target this specific section of the enzyme.
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September 2005
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