Journey Through the Scientific Intricacies of Alzheimer's Within the Brain

Writer: Vijaya Varadarajan

Editor: Prahalad Srinivasan

The creases on her face held a profound awareness of the world, as her rare mutters and child-like nod with gazing eyes created a nonpareil connection. Her glassy eyes looked around, following the circles of my eyes, the folds on my forehead, and the curves in the ears; her thin-layered skin was trying its best to tame the protruding nerves on her hands. Her scaly limbs touch the wooden table, leaving an oval, overly stripey print of biological magic which soon vaporizes. The question lingers: What makes her so different? Although her fingerprint is a great place to start, we need to elaborate on what brought us to Woodland Terrace Senior Living. Amidst a hazy memory that trails off, a subtle loss in judgment to produce deductions, and challenges posed by familiar tasks are all symptoms of Alzheimer's. What exactly happens to the brain during Alzheimer's? Well, it's a journey marked by the subtle degradation of the human brain's intricate machinery.

Tau

Alzheimer’s, at its core, starts with the building of proteins in the brain. Two main protagonists emerge: Tau and Amyloid Beta. Tau is a fibrillar protein that orients neural structure. As a response to chemical modifications, it causes a transformational change in Tau. It forms tangles that disrupt the delicate balance of microtubules in the brain, leading to neurons that don’t function optimally.

Amyloid Beta

Meanwhile, Amyloid Beta builds up as plaque outside the neurons, impeding the electrical messages that shoot between neurons. The immune guards of the Brain-Microglia (immune cells of the brain)- kick in an immune response to get rid of the detrimental build-up of proteins and the remnants of dead neurons.

This immune response doesn’t occur without consequences. Chronic inflammation eventually decreases brain size due to continuous neural damage. When Neural damage takes place, symptoms start to become prevalent as the affected parts of the brain dwindle and shrink. It is at this juncture that symptoms of Alzheimer’s start to cast their shadows upon affected individuals.

Overall, the proteins Tau and Amyloid Beta both build up greatly as patients develop Alzheimer’s. As these proteins build up in the brain, chronic inflammation occurs in the brain, and patients are unable to retain memory, which eventually leads to failure in completing common tasks. The buildup of both these proteins generally happen due to age, and there is no direct solution available currently.

With a curtain drawn on the proteins within the brain, the real exploration unfolds. Tune in to next week’s blog discussing how symptoms eventuate and the lines of treatment, that medical professionals prescribe to lessen the symptoms.

Glossary:

Fibrillar: forming filaments or bundles

Microtubule: a tubular structure that’s present

Chronic Inflammation: the brain swelling caused by an autoimmune response or inflection. The most common type is Encephalitis amongst Alzheimer’s patients. In fact, patients with Encephalitis are 20 times more likely to have Alzheimer's disease, compared to those who haven’t.

Works Cited:

Mandal, Ananya. Alzheimer’s disease specific brain deposits photographed for the first time in vivid detail. 5 July 2017. News Medical, https://www.news-medical.net/news/20170705/Alzheimers-disease-specific-brain-deposits-photographed-for-the-first-time-in-vivid-detail.aspx. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023. (Picture of Tau)

“Beta-Amyloid Plaque in Alzheimer’s Disease Decreased in Focused Ultrasound Trial Patients.” Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 22 September 2021, https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fusfoundation.org%2Fposts%2Fbeta-amyloid-plaque-in-alzheimer-s-disease-decreased-in-focused-ultrasound-trial-patients%2F&psig=AOvVaw2EqI241faNjhTkBc0d5nP8&ust=1699819060747000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=8. Accessed 11 November 2023.(picture of amyloid beta)

Khan, Zaved. Brain Atrophy in Advanced Alzheimer’s Disease. Oct. 2013. ReseachGate, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Brain-Atrophy-in-Advanced-Alzheimers-Disease-41_fig2_273768877. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023. (Picture of brain shrink)

“Beta-Amyloid Plaque in Alzheimer’s Disease Decreased in Focused Ultrasound Trial Patients.” Focused Ultrasound Foundation, 22 September 2021, https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fusfoundation.org%2Fposts%2Fbeta-amyloid-plaque-in-alzheimer-s-disease-decreased-in-focused-ultrasound-trial-patients%2F&psig=AOvVaw2EqI241faNjhTkBc0d5nP8&ust=1699819060747000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=8. Accessed 11 November 2023.(Encephalitis)

Chronic Inflammation - Statpearls - NCBI Bookshelf, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493173/. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023. (what is inflammation)

Soulet, Denis, and Serge Rivest. “Microglia.” Cell, https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(08)00533-2.pdf.(Microglia)

Anne Trafton  |  MIT News Office. “Chemists Reveal How Tau Proteins Form Tangles.” MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, news.mit.edu/2022/how-tau-proteins-tangle-0527. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023. (tangling of Tau proteins)

“What Happens to the Brain in Alzheimer's Disease?” National Institute on Aging, 16 May 2017, https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-happens-brain-alzheimers-disease. Accessed 11 November 2023. (Tau proteins and Amyloid Beta)

“What Does Alzheimer’s Do to the Brain?” YouTube, YouTube, 22 Oct. 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL4fKTocifU. Accessed 11 Nov. 2023. (Tau proteins and Amyloid Beta)

“What happens to brain cells with Alzheimer’s disease?” YouTube, 6 January 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KZvik8fieQ. Accessed 11 November 2023. (The Tay and Amyloid Beta)