A group such as the University of Tokyo announced that they have elucidated one of the mechanisms by which a protein called "tau", which is thought to be involved in the onset of dementia, accumulates in the brain through experiments using mice.
It is attracting attention as it will lead to the development of new treatments for dementia.
This was published in an overseas academic journal by a group such as Professor Takeshi Iwatsubo of the University of Tokyo.
In dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, it is known that a protein called "tau" accumulates in the brain and nerve cells are destroyed, but the mechanism by which "tau" accumulates has not been known in detail.
The group investigated the movement of the "tau" in the brain of the mouse in detail and found that the "tau" traveled along the stream of water into the cerebrospinal fluid and then was excreted. am.
Furthermore, it was confirmed that "tau" is not normally excreted in mice that have lost the protein "aquaporin 4" that allows water to pass through, and that the brain atrophies when a large amount of it accumulates in the brain.
The group said that the abnormal excretion of "tau" may be one of the causes of the onset of dementia, and Professor Iwatsubo said, "If this mechanism can be stimulated, it will lead to the development of treatment and prevention methods for dementia. Is expected. "