Amyloid-beta is associated with sleep deprivation. This new research could suggest that sleep is an essential component of the immune system.
If so, then the plaques it forms might be the brain’s last-ditch effort to protect itself from microbes, a sort of Spider-Man silk that binds up pathogens to keep them from damaging the brain. Maybe they save the brain from pathogens in the short term only to themselves prove toxic over the long term.
I really like the thinking here.
Similarly: In people with CF, calcium and glutathione build up in the cells. High levels of calcium are associated with cell death, so much of the CF community believes calcium is harmful.
I believe the calcium and glutathione are desperate efforts to buffer the cell in the face of deranged cell chemistry. I believe the high calcium is indicative of other things being really bad and the body trying desperately to compensate.
If this guy wants another outside-the-box research project, there you go. I would love to see that looked into.
Edit: Is it me, or does the article actually switch from saying amyloid-beta to saying beta-amyloid midway through?
This month, however, he got an unheard-of email from NIH: The agency had found some extra money lying around in its budget. Would he please respond to the reviewers and resubmit his proposal? An over-the-moon Moir did. He expects to hear back in a few weeks.
That's really interesting. The correlation of amyloid plaques and alzheimers has always seemed to me like a classic case of the ambiguity of correlation and causality (i.e., cause or symptom?!). Sounds like the same deal with calcium in CF
If so, then the plaques it forms might be the brain’s last-ditch effort to protect itself from microbes, a sort of Spider-Man silk that binds up pathogens to keep them from damaging the brain. Maybe they save the brain from pathogens in the short term only to themselves prove toxic over the long term.
I really like the thinking here.
Similarly: In people with CF, calcium and glutathione build up in the cells. High levels of calcium are associated with cell death, so much of the CF community believes calcium is harmful.
I believe the calcium and glutathione are desperate efforts to buffer the cell in the face of deranged cell chemistry. I believe the high calcium is indicative of other things being really bad and the body trying desperately to compensate.
If this guy wants another outside-the-box research project, there you go. I would love to see that looked into.
Edit: Is it me, or does the article actually switch from saying amyloid-beta to saying beta-amyloid midway through?
This month, however, he got an unheard-of email from NIH: The agency had found some extra money lying around in its budget. Would he please respond to the reviewers and resubmit his proposal? An over-the-moon Moir did. He expects to hear back in a few weeks.
Yay! I hope he gets it.