A research team composed of members from POSTECH, KIST, and SUNG KYUN KWAN UNIVERSITY discovered the cause of dementia. It is known that the cause of 30 percent of dementia is the alteration of a brain cell called alpha-synuclein. This protein helps the brain activity in healthy brain cells. Once tangled by each other, however, these proteins turn into fatal toxin, causing a variety of brain malfunction, such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease.
So far, there has been no research on how this alpha-synuclein ill-affects brain cells. But this time, the research team could figure it out by observing the real time secretion process of neurotransmitter. The researchers assumed that another protein called Beta amyloid has a similar mechanism to cause Alzheimer’s.
This achievement was appreciated to open a new prospect in preventing and curing Alzheimer’s disease.