January 13, 2026

Alzheimer’s

Blood proteins tied to Alzheimer’s disease– www.futurity.org

pgnewser September 17, 2025

Blood proteins tied to Alzheimer’s disease– www.futurity.org
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Excerpt:

Researchers have found new clues in the blood that could help explain why Alzheimer’s disease develops and how it affects memory.

The study in Nature Aging examined blood samples from more than 2,100 individuals across four large research cohorts. Using advanced tools, scientists measured thousands of proteins in the blood and linked them to changes in the brain and thinking ability.

Traditionally, doctors have focused on sticky amyloid plaques in the brain as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.

But the new research shows that many other processes are also at play. The team found that proteins related to the immune system, protein disposal, energy use, and the body’s support structure (called the extracellular matrix) were tied to memory and thinking problems.

Importantly, not all of these changes could be explained by known Alzheimer’s brain changes, suggesting that factors outside the brain—like processes in blood and other organs—may contribute to the disease.

“Many of the proteins we found in blood are not directly tied to what we see in the brain after death,” says Erik Johnson, senior author, physician, and researcher at Emory University’s Goizueta Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center.

 

 

Breakthrough Discovery: Scientists Restore Key Alzheimer’s Pathway – SciTechDaily

pgnewser February 17, 2025

Breakthrough Discovery: Scientists Restore Key Alzheimer’s Pathway – SciTechDaily
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Excerpt:

A research team from the Keck School of Medicine at USC has identified the mechanisms of a cellular pathway that drives inflammation and aging, particularly in individuals with the APOE4 genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Their study also reveals a method for restoring cells to a healthy state, offering a potential new avenue for treatment. This discovery, the result of a decade-long investigation into the ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) protein, was recently published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration.

Previous research has shown that low levels of HDL cholesterol—often called “good” cholesterol—in the brain increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This risk is linked to dysfunction in ABCA1, a protein responsible for producing HDL when functioning correctly.

But fixing those problems requires understanding the exact biological mechanisms at play—and those details have long eluded researchers, who faced an apparent paradox. In brains affected by Alzheimer’s disease, ABCA1 molecules increased, but their activity decreased.