Alzheimers and prion diseases: cellular and genetic mechanisms of neurodegeneration

阿尔茨海默病是最常见的痴呆症，影响了英国很大一部分老年人口。许多人通过认识患有这种使人衰弱的疾病的家庭成员或朋友而受到影响。朊病毒疾病，如克雅氏病（CJD），是非常罕见的，但近年来受到了很多关注，因为在英国，随着牛海绵状脑病（BSE）（疯牛病）的流行，感染的人数仍然未知。这两种脑部疾病都是致命的，到目前为止，还没有治愈这两种疾病的方法。我们已经注意到，脑细胞调节导致阿尔茨海默病和朊病毒疾病的关键蛋白质加工过程的方式有相似之处。这项提议的目的是在细胞和动物以及阿尔茨海默病患者死后的脑组织中研究这些过程。我们工作的结果将帮助我们了解这些疾病是如何发展的，并可能有助于确定新的治疗方法。

Alzheimers disease is the commonest form of dementia that affects a large proportion of the elderly population of the UK. Many other people are affected through knowing a family member or friend who has this debilitating disease. Prion diseases, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), are much rarer but have received much attention in recent years because of the still unknown number of people in the UK infected following the epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) (mad cow disease). Both these brain diseases are fatal and, as yet, there are no cures for either disease. We have noticed similarities in the way that brain cells regulate the processing of key proteins that cause Alzheimers and prion diseases. The aim of this proposal is to investigate these processes in cells and animals, as well as in post-mortem brain tissue from Alzheimers patients. The results from our work will help us understand how these diseases develop and may aid in the identification of new treatments.