What Can Newborns Tell Us About Alzheimer’s?
In recent years, scientists have stood by the belief that p-tau217, a seemingly toxic protein found in the brain, plays a key role in the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Yet a new study out of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden is turning that theory on its head—and challenging what research has shown about both Alzheimer’s disease and early brain development.
The study, published in June in the journal Brain Communications, found that elevated levels of p-tau217 are found in the brains of newborns—potentially forging a new path forward for research and new treatments for Alzheimer’s.
What’s Tau?
Before exploring what this new study found, it’s important to first understand tau. A vital protein, tau has many functions in healthy brain cells. It’s mostly found in neurons, facilitating the sending of messages throughout the body, allowing us to think, talk, eat, and more.
In an individual with Alzheimer’s disease, however, tau becomes altered and turns into phosphorylated tau, also called p-tau217. High levels of p-tau217 may then lead to further alterations, becoming “tau tangles”—harmful structures that damage neurons and impair communication between cells. This impairment is thought to be one of the main drivers of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients.
The increase of tau levels can be seen more than 20 years before symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease show up, and has a strong association with later diagnosis of the disease. Because of this, p-tau217 could also be an important new biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease.
Tau’s Role in Brain Development
Of course, because newborns don’t have Alzheimer’s, the elevated levels of p-tau217 discovered in the study suggest a completely different and healthy mechanism at work.
For the study, researchers looked at blood samples from over 400 people, including healthy newborns, premature infants, young adults, older adults, and those with Alzheimer’s disease. What they found is that the highest levels of p-tau217 were found in newborns and were even higher than those with Alzheimer’s disease.
Even more interesting, the levels were particularly high in premature infants, and started to decrease within the first few months of life and ultimately reached levels similar to those in young adults.
These findings suggest that tau plays a role in supporting rapid brain development. Tau may allow neurons to grow and form new connections with other neurons, shaping the structure of the brain.
While previous studies in animals started to lay the foundation for exploring the role of p-tau217 in brain development, this study is the first time researchers have measured p-tau217 in newborns.
New Alzheimer’s Treatments May Be On the Horizon
Researchers say their findings indicate that babies may be born with a built-in protection in their brains to combat the harmful effects of tau, so they tolerate—even benefit from—the elevated levels without triggering the harmful effects seen in Alzheimer’s.
With this new understanding of newborn brain development may ultimately come new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. “If we can learn how the newborn brain keeps tau in check, we might one day mimic those processes to slow or stop Alzheimer’s in its tracks”, says Fernando Gonzalez-Ortiz, lead author of the study.
The study authors say that the next step is to understand what’s driving the defense from p-tau217 for newborns. “We believe that understanding how this natural protection works—and why we lose it as we age—could offer a roadmap for new treatments.”
Clinical trials can possibly help identify new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, as well as its causes, perhaps leading to the ability to prevent it, altogether.
To learn about current clinical trials at Charter Research, call us at 407-337-3000 (Orlando), 352-441-2000 (The Villages), or 773-300-1000 (Chiago). You can also fill out the form on this page, and one of our representatives will call you within 24 hours (excluding weekends).