ganjagadget's Journal: link between the aging process and a misfolded protein

Los Angeles, Aug. 11 (Xinhua): New research in worms has suggested an important link between the aging process and a misfolded protein that causes Alzheimer's disease, U.S. scientists reported yesterday. This finding will open the door for development of drugs preventing build-up of the toxic protein aggregates in the brain, the researchers said in the Aug.10 advanced online edition of the journal Science. The harmful protein, called beta amyloid peptide, exists in all brains. Healthy cells clear away excess amounts, but brains of people with Alzheimer's disease are unable to control beta amyloid accumulation. Scientists have scrambled to find out the mechanism behind this mystery for years. Now the research team from the Salk Institute and the Scripps Institute shows that aging is what's critical. http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200608111141.htm