From: [C upi] at [clari.net] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.news.issues.smoking,clari.tw.health.misc,clari.tw.top
Subject: CWRU: Nicotine Inhibits Alzheimer's
Organization: Copyright 1996 by United Press International
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 14:30:49 PST

                                         
        CLEVELAND, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Researchers at Case Western Reserve  
University have found, in test tube studies, that nicotine inhibits the 
formation of amyloid plaque. 
        The CWRU researchers say that toxic substance found in the brains of  
Alzheimer's patients is the suspected cause of the dementia of memory 
loss. 
        The research work was conducted by Michael Zagorski, an assistant  
professor in CWRU's Department of Chemistry. His team reported the 
findings in the Oct. 22 issue of ``Biochemistry,'' a journal of the 
American Chemical Society. 
        Amyloid plaques are abundant in Alzheimer's victims' brains, and the  
major component of the plaques is the beta-peptide. 
        The beta-peptide is normally found in everyone's blood plasma and  
other fluids. 
        However, under certain environmental changes, the beta-peptides  
undergo a transformation from a soluble form to one that is toxic to 
nerve cells. Both forms are elementary structures found in strings of 
amino acids that make up proteins and peptides. 
        Working under Zagorski's supervision, Arthur Salomon (who at the time  
was an undergraduate student and now a graduate student at Stanford 
University) performed the experiments that showed nicotine inhibits 
production of the toxic beta-sheet structures and the accompanying 
formation of amyloid plaques. 
        Graduate students also participating in the research included Shu-  
chuan Jao, Keith Marcinowski, and Haiyan Shao. Robert Friedland from the 
Department of Neurology in CWRU's School of Medicine also contributed to 
the study. 
        ``This model may later facilitate the development of nicotine-like  
compounds that could prevent or slow down amyloid formation in AD 
patients,'' said Zagorski. 
        He stressed that nicotine in tobacco is hazardous to human health,  
and that cigarette smoking should not be considered as a method to delay 
or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's disease. 
--       
                   C O P Y R I G H T * R E M I N D E R  

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