FEBRUARY 22, 2023 — The development of Alzheimer’s disease is a complex web.
Amyloid plaques are believed to be the critical driver of Alzheimer’s disease. To date, Alzheimer’s research has primarily focused on amyloid development in and around the brain.
The build-up of the protein is consistent with the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s, and many researchers believe the plaque prevent brain cells from properly functioning.
But UTSA researcher George Perry doesn’t buy it.
“Being correlated and being causative are not the same thing,” said Perry, UTSA’s Semmes Foundation Distinguished University Chair in Neurobiology. “Instead, many who study Alzheimer’s have confused causality with association.”
Aging is a normal process. The body, including the brain, is altered throughout the aging process with billions of neurons adjusting, adapting and evolving. Some changes, Perry explained, may appear abnormal but they are needed to keep the brain healthy. Amyloid is an example.
“It’s a key adjustment protein related to the aging process. Alzheimer’s is the result of this normal process failing,” Perry explained. “Amyloid is a piece of the brain’s response to aging, and I think all the disease related proteins we study in neurodegenerative diseases are how you maintain successful aging.”
Perry’s research focuses on the mechanism and physiological consequences of Alzheimer’s at the cellular level. He and his research collaborators have found that oxidative damage—an imbalance in oxygen reacting with the body’s defenses—is the initial diagnostic tool to examine cells in determining the cause or nature of Alzheimer’s disease.
The team is working to determine the sequence of events leading to the neuronal oxidative damage and the source of the increased oxygen radicals that scientists observe during cognitive decline.
“Biology doesn’t have good or bad things. It depends on the context. Free radicals and amyloid aren’t either bad or good. Everyone develops amyloid and oxidative stress in their late 30s, whether or not they will develop Alzheimer’s. Surprisingly amyloid reduces oxidative stress by blocking free radical formation. Based on the antioxidant activity of amyloid, we predicted over 20 years ago that amyloid removal would not benefit patients,” Perry said.
Alzheimer’s has no cure. However, prevention and lifestyle modification can greatly reduce risk, Perry noted. The multidisciplinary studies of UTSA’s Brain Health Consortium are essential to benefiting patients and families living with Alzheimer’s disease.
“How many chronic age-related diseases are cured? Few if any. Arthritis? Heart disease? The best medicine can do is to slow them down,” Perry said.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Día en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza, Main CampusCovidence is a systematic & scoping review tool used to streamline the process of screening and reviewing articles. Using this software, research teams can easily import studies, perform automatic deduplication, and extract data using templates. This workshop will show attendees how to start a review in Covidence, add collaborators, and get started on screening.
Virtual (Zoom)In this workshop, attendees will be introduced to Pandas, a Python tool for working with data easily. It makes it simple to organize and analyze information when data is organized and categorized, like spreadsheets or tables.
Group Spot B, John Peace LibraryEach fall and spring semester, students convene at the Main Campus at UTSA with booths, ideas and prototypes. A crowd of judges, local organizations, students, faculty and sponsors walk around and talk to the students about their projects and ask questions. Students get the real-life experience of "pitching" their project with hopes of getting funding or support to move to the next level.
UTSA Convocation Center, Main CampusJoin the doctoral candidates for the Doctoral Conferreal Ceremony and celebrate their accomplishments.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusCelebrate the graduates from the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the graduates from the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
AlamodomeThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
