A molecular chain reaction in Alzheimer’s disease

29 May 2013 Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have identified the molecular mechanism behind the transformation of one of the components in Alzheimer's disease. They identified the crucial step leading to formations that kill brain cells. Alzheimer's disease is associated with memory a loss and personality changes. It is still not known what causes the onset of the disease, but once started it cannot be stopped. The accumulation of plaques in the brain is widely considered a hallmark of the disease. The key discovery identified the chemical reaction that causes the plaques to grow exponentially. Amyloid beta, a protein fragment that occurs naturally in the fluid around the brain, is one of the building blocks of plaques.