Tau protein aggregates are present in a group of disorders, collectively termed the tauopathies. Alzheimer's disease is the most common of those disorders, while frontotemporal dementia is most strongly linked to tau. Now, a map of the proteins that interact with tau and how those interactions differ between normal and disease-associated tau protein could give new clues on how the protein causes damage in neurodegenerative disorders, and on how to treat or prevent that damage.

Antibodies to the EBNA1 protein of Epstein-Barr virus can cross-react with glial cell adhesion molecule (GlialCAM), a component of the myelin sheath. The findings are the first to report a mechanism for how viral infections can cause autoimmune disorders.

A novel dual-action small molecule developed by a team led by scientists at Kyungpook National University (KNU) in Daegu, South Korea, has been shown to improve the neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in mice, the authors reported in the Jan. 18, 2022, edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Destroying senescent cells in the aging stem cell niche, either genetically or pharmacologically using the small-molecule senolytic ABT-263 (navitoclax; Abbvie Inc.), enhanced hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function in mice, a Canadian study led by scientists at the University of Toronto has found.

The enzyme poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase 1 (PARP1) is well known for its role in DNA damage repair, and multiple FDA-approved PARP inhibitors are used to treat BRCA-mutated tumors. Now, researchers at the Wistar Institute have described a role for PARP in regulating the genome of Epstein-Barr virus.

Investigators have identified structural differences between amyloid-beta (Abeta) aggregates in the postmortem brains of patients with inherited and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), respectively. Moreover, both were different from the aggregates that form when Abeta assembles in vitro.

A study by researchers led by David James from the University of Sydney showcases the diversity in metabolic responses observed across different mouse strains exposed to two different diets that demonstrates the heritability of metabolic traits.

A team led by researchers from the ETH Zürich and the University of Basel has used a combination of mass spectrometry data and machine learning to predict antibiotic resistance of clinical bacterial samples. The results, which were published in the Jan. 10, 2022, issue of Nature Medicine, could speed the identification of optimal antibiotic regimens for patients.

By using data collected over decades in a database of more than 10 million active-duty military personnel, researchers have managed to nail down the connection between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and multiple sclerosis (MS).

LONDON – A population level study tracking every pregnancy in Scotland between the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and the end of October 2021 lays bare the devastating impact of COVID-19 on perinatal mortality.