Dementia ‘superspreader’ detected by Swiss researchers

Researchers at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA) have gained new insights into the spread of dementia diseases such as Alzheimer’s. They observed a particularly active species of protein fibres known as “superspreaders”.

Over 250 hours, the research team monitored how potentially toxic molecules formed on the surface of the fibre. The results were published in the journal Science Advances.

Accumulations of proteins in the brain are suspected to be linked to the development of dementia, which is why they are considered a promising target for new therapeutic approaches. It is already known that misfolded proteins clump together to form fibre-like structures known as fibrils.

EMPA announced on Monday that the particular subspecies of fibrils observed in this study exhibited particularly high catalytic activity at their edges and surface. New protein building blocks accumulate on the surface, which leads to the binding of long-chain fibrils.

The proteins were analysed unchanged in a salt solution at room temperature, which corresponds to the physiological conditions in the human body. The analyses were then compared with molecular model calculations.

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