Clues to New Players in the Tragedy of Alzheimer’s  1012
neuro3UAB neurologist Erik Roberson, M.D., Ph.D., uses clinical
observations to guide his laboratory research, focusing on the
ways that disease interferes with the brain’s ability to store
and retrieve memories. In particular, he is interested in
cognitive deficits related to Alzheimer’s. Initially,
researchers assumed that the memory loss in Alzheimer’s was a
result of neuronal death, but Roberson says that the process
actually begins earlier.  Most research related to the cause of
Alzheimer’s disease has focused on two proteins: amyloid beta
and tau. But changes in amyloid beta occur in the pre-
symptomatic stages of the disease. By the time patients are
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the levels of amyloid beta in their
brains are so high that drugs to target the protein may not have
an effect, Roberson notes. This could explain why clinical
trials of such drugs have not been very successful.  Since the
changes in tau happen closer to the onset of sympto