New Details on the Role of Fat Transport Molecules in Alzheimer’s Onset

Badri N. Vardarajan, PhD, MS, associate professor of neurological science, talks about the results of a recent study led by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Researchers examined the role of lysophosphatidylcholines (LPCs), a chemical compound that transports fatty acids to the brain, which either advance the development of Alzheimer’s or protect against it. “Over a century ago, Alois Alzheimer observed unusual fat deposits in the brains of dementia patients. We’ve now found the early warning system: blood metabolites that reveal this fat transport breakdown decades before symptoms appear. By targeting the lysophosphatidylcholine transport system that ferries protective fats into the brain and tailoring interventions to APOE ε4 genetic status, we could prevent or treat the disease, translating his discovery into preventive therapy,” explains Dr. Vardarajan. [read more]

Source: CUIMC Newsroom