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 NEUROLOGY: Alzheimer's Study Maps Alternate Route to Disease
Amyloid plaques, made up mostly of beta-amyloid peptides, are the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Some rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer's are, in fact, caused by mutations in proteins called presenilins that cleave the amyloid peptides from their precursor protein. These mutations are thought to promote plaque formation and thereby accelerate the disease process. But are plaques really where the pathology begins? In the April 8 Neuron, Jie Shen and colleagues demonstrate that eliminating the two presenilin genes in mice leads to learning and memory deficits reminiscent of dementia--but without the production of beta-amyloid. The findings indicate that some inherited Alzheimer's cases may be due to a loss, not a gain, of presenilin function.
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 CELL BIOLOGY: Yeast Ramp Up Sugar Production to Survive Cold
Physicians usually worry about too much sugar, be it sucrose in the diet or glucose in the blood. But now researchers in the lab of Alfred Goldberg (on left) have found that high levels of another kind of sugar--trehalose--is the critical ingredient that naturally enables yeast to subsist in frosty environments, like harsh winters and laboratory refrigerators. The researchers, led by Olga Kandror (on right), report in the March 26 Molecular Cell that a specific transcription factor also turns on other protective molecules, which may enable microorganisms and cold-blooded complex organisms to make it through the winter.
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 CLINICAL RESEARCH: Harvard Clinical Research Group Gains Reputation for Trial Design, Statistical Analysis
Boston-based NMT Medical, like other medical products companies, has turned to the Harvard Clinical Research Initiative (HCRI) for assistance in trial design and statistical analysis in testing one of its products. HCRI president Spencer Goldsmith (on left) explains that the institute provides clients with exceptional strength and depth of expertise in the HMS-affiliated physicians it can recruit. "These are individuals who are driven by science rather than stock options," Goldsmith said. With him is NMT Medical's president and CEO John Ahern.
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Copyright 2004 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
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