Reelin, a protein made by the brain to protect against neural degradation and diseases such as Alzheimer’s, may hold the key to future Alzheimer’s treatments and cures. A study of a Colombian man who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and died at 74 revealed novel findings regarding the correlation between Reelin and Alzheimer’s treatment, which has spurred further research and drug development in the area. The patient, who should have exhibited Alzheimer’s symptoms significantly earlier on in life, had a delayed onset of the disease due to a rarer gene variant responsible for creating the Reelin protein. He only started to exhibit symptoms at age 67, which was significantly later than when symptoms would have presented if he had had the normal Reelin gene variant. When performing autopsies on other brains, a similar pattern emerged: individuals with the gene variant exhibited less severe Alzheimer’s symptoms and had a delayed Alzheimer’s onset.
Image Source: Andrew Brookes
Reelin production is reduced for Alzheimer’s patients.
Alzheimer’s progressively damages the brain by destroying the neurons that make Reelin. A crucial marker for indicating whether someone has Alzheimer’s is the presence of tangled tau fibers, which remain untangled in non-affected individuals. This complication notably occurs in the entorhinal cortex of the brain – a region that connects to the hippocampus and is responsible for many features of a healthy memory. Consequently, this means that tangled fibers cause complications in memory and other important brain functions. However, this tangled tau region was essentially gone in individuals who had the Reelin variant.
Currently, certain labs are engaged in using artificial intelligence to map the brain and find a drug that can stand in place for Reelin when it starts to get killed off by Alzheimer’s. Additionally, many of the neurons responsible for creating Reelin proteins can be protected through certain dietary changes, such as choline and polyamine spermidine supplements. These dietary supplements target neurons in the brain for a healthier brain function and can be used in tandem with future drug therapies as they continue to be released.
Featured Image Source: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS
