昨天发表在《阿尔茨海默病与痴呆：阿尔茨海默病协会杂志》（Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association）上的一项新研究发现，一类特殊的分子可能有助于诊断阿尔茨海默病。
伦敦国王学院（King's College London）的研究小组发现，在那些大脑淀粉样蛋白（一种用来诊断阿尔茨海默病的肽）的研究中，血液中诱导睡眠的脂肪分子水平更高。
淀粉样肽在大脑中形成对神经细胞有毒的斑块。斑块的积累被认为是在记忆丧失等症状出现之前的许多年开始的。迄今为止开发的针对淀粉样蛋白的药物并没有成功地恢复记忆。
研究人员希望这项研究能够为新的治疗打开道路，因为这与脂肪分子有关。
为了研究血液中的任何分子是否与大脑中的淀粉样蛋白有关，研究人员使用了一种类似于投掷一个大鱼网的技术，以尽可能多地捕捉血液中的分子。然后他们列出了数百个分子，发现脂肪酸酰胺（fatty acid amides）的增加与大脑中的淀粉样蛋白一致。研究小组还发现这些分子与大脑萎缩和记忆丧失有关。
主要作者，伦敦国王学院的Cristina Legido-Quigley博士说：“这是第一次在血液中发现大脑中产生的脂质分子的研究，因为淀粉样蛋白沉积会增加阿尔茨海默病的发病率。这些脂肪酰 胺被认为具有神经保护作用并诱导睡眠。也有证据表明，淀粉样蛋白在缺乏睡眠的大脑中积累，因此这些分子可能在清除大脑中有毒的淀粉样蛋白方面发挥作用。
“对于阿尔茨海默病的新疗法来说，一个非常必要的先决条件是一个可靠的诊断测试，可以用来识别有风险的人。验血要比测量大脑中的淀粉样蛋白便宜，而且比腰穿更容易。还有更多的工作要做。到目前为止，我们已经在近600名参与者中测量了这些分子，并希望扩大到数千人，以确定血液中是否有可能进行新的诊断试验。
The group of researchers from King's College London found that the level of the fatty molecules which induce sleep in blood were higher in those participants in the study with amyloid in the brain, the peptide used to diagnose Alzheimer's Disease.
The amyloid peptide goes onto form plaquesin the brain that are toxic to nerve cells. Plaque accumulation is thought to start many years before the appearance of symptoms such as memory loss. Drugs that have been developed so far to target amyloid have not been successful inrestoring memory.
Researchers hope that this study could open the way for new treatments given the link with fatty molecules.
To investigate whether any molecules in blood could be linked to amyloid in brain, researchers used a technique akin to throwing a big fishnet to catch as many molecules as possible in the blood.They then generated a list of hundreds of molecules and found that fatty acid amides increased in line with amyloid in the brain. The team also found that these molecules were connected to brain shrink age and memory loss.
Lead author, Dr Cristina Legido-Quigley from King's College London said: "This is the first study in which lipid molecules produced in the brain are found in the blood, as amyloid deposition increases in Alzheimer's Disease. These fatty amides are known to be neuroprotective and to induce sleep. There is also evidence that amyloid accumulates in the brain with lack of sleep, so these molecules may be playing a role in clearing up toxic amyloid in the brain.
"A much-needed pre-requisite for new treatments for Alzheimer's Disease is a reliable diagnostic test that could be used to identify people at risk. A blood test would be cheaper than measuring amyloid in the brain and easier to do than a spinal tap. There is more work to be done. So far, we have measured these molecules in nearly 600 participants,and hope to expand to the thousands to establish if a new diagnostic test in blood is indeed possible."
参考文献
Source：King's College London
ScienceDaily
Could sleep molecules lead to a blood test for Alzheimer's disease?
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190508093729.htm
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