At the University of California, San Diego, scientists identified brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein produced in the entorhinal cortex of the brain, as a substance that has the potential to provide long-lasting protection against Alzheimer’s disease in animal models. Studies need to be done to determine the value of BDNF in humans at risk for or with the disease.
What is Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor?
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a protein manufactured in an area of the brain that supports memory. It’s been shown that BDNF production, which continues throughout a person’s lifetime, decreases in people who have Alzheimer’s disease. This new study, the results of which were published in the February 8, 2009 issue of Nature Medicine, showed BDNF to have a very powerful impact on brain cells.
Study Results
The researchers injected the BDNF protein into various cell cultures and animal models, including rats and monkeys who had damage to their entorhinal cortex. When compared with control animals, who were not treated with BDNF, the treated animals did significantly better on memory and learning tests.
When the brains of the treated animals were examined, they had enhanced cell size, improved signaling between cells, and activity in neurons that would have degenerated due to Alzheimer’s disease if BDNF had not been administered. The scientists also saw improvement in the hippocampus, which is one of the first areas of the brain that is damaged in Alzheimer’s disease, and also where short-term memory is processed.
According to the study’s experts, BDNF directly affects the dying cells in specific memory areas of the brain. The protein prevents cell death, stimulates cell function, and thus improves memory and learning. For these reasons, the researchers are hopeful that BDNF treatment will someday provide lasting protection against Alzheimer’s disease.
Possible New Treatment Approach
Most of the current experimental treatments for Alzheimer’s disease focus on preventing or stopping the accumulation of amyloid plaque, protein fragments that build up between the nerve cells in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Treatment with BDNF would offer an alternative treatment approach, because it targets a different disease mechanism than plaque development. Therefore, there is a potential for clinicians to combine amyloid-based treatments with BDNF and thus expand the scope and hopefully the success of treatment for people who have this devastating disease.
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