Revealing the hidden role of blood leaks in Alzheimer’s and MS

The question of what causes complex neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or multiple sclerosis continues to confound scientists and doctors, with the unknowns standing in the way of early diagnoses and effective treatments.

Even among identical twins who share the same genetic risk factors, one may develop a particular neurological disease while the other does not.

That's because unlike diseases such as cystic fibrosis or sickle-cell anemia, which are caused by a single gene, most neurological disorders are associated with many-;sometimes hundreds-;of rare genetic variants. And on their own, these variants can't predict who will develop disease, as neurological conditions are also strongly influenced by environmental factors and vascular risks such as high blood pressure, aging, heart disease, or obesity.

Akassoglou, Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institute of Neurological DiseasesKnowing that leaked blood is a key driver of brain inflammation, we can now approach these diseases from a different angle."

Neutralizing the culprit

"As a first step, we know that neutralizing fibrin reduces the burden posed by vascular dysfunction," Akassoglou says. Regardless of what initially caused the blood leaks, be it a head injury, autoimmunity, genetic mutations, brain amyloid or infection, neutralizing fibrin appears to be protective in multiple animal models of disease.

A new era of brain research

They say that in the coming decade, scientific breakthroughs will emerge from collaborative networks of immunologists, neuroscientists, hematologists, geneticists, computer scientists, physicists, bioengineers, drug developers, and clinical researchers. These partnerships-;forged across academia, industry, and foundations-;will catalyze innovation in drug discovery and transform medical practice for neurological diseases.

"This is a new opportunity for drug discovery that goes beyond addressing genes alone or environmental factors alone," Akassoglou says. "To usher in this new era, we must leverage new technologies and embrace an interdisciplinary approach that accounts for the important roles of immune and vascular systems in neurodegeneration."

Source:

Gladstone Institutes

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