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NIH awards grant to further research potential cause of Alzheimer’s disease

The NIH has awarded a $3.6 million grant to Luciano D’Adamio, MD, PhD, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, to continue his research on how amyloid precursor protein is processed in the brain.

Genetic evidence indicates the way amyloid precursor protein is processed may contribute to development of Alzheimer’s disease. Individuals with a variant of amyloid precursor protein for which processing by the enzyme beta-secretase 1 is reduced are protected from Alzheimer’s disease and normal age-associated cognitive decline, according to a press release.

The grant will enable D’Adamio to study the role of amyloid precursor protein and amyloid precursor-like protein 2 in synaptic transmission and the molecular mechanisms behind them.

D’Adamio and colleagues will assess how synaptic transmission is regulated by amyloid precursor protein and amyloid precursor-like protein 2.

This research may explain Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis and therefore inform future drug targets.