By Max Wallack Alzheimer’s Reading Room According to an article in the Sydney Morning Herald , Dr. Ashley Bush and his research team at the University of Melbourne have found that there is an imbalance of zinc and iron in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. They say this causes an accumulation of “brain rust”. Dr. Bush says his research is “the most in-depth series of biochemical discoveries about Alzheimer’s disease and its causes to date.” The study will be published later this month in the Journal Cell. According to Bush, “as zinc was seen to accumulate in amyloid it blocked the APP [amyloid precursor protein] from performing its critical, and previously unknown, job of exporting iron out of the brain’s neurons. This led to a build-up of iron in the grey matter. . . The brain is an unusual organ in that it has very high concentrations of metals which it uses for its electrical chemistry.” Dr. Bush said his research still did not “reveal the complete picture of the cause of Alzheimer’s disease”, but that it did show an important “corner piece of the jigsaw puzzle.” Dr. Bush’s biotechnology firm, Prana, is working on a new approach to treat Alzheimer’s disease. The drug being developed, PBT2, is aimed at trying to restore normal levels of metals in the brain. He also said it would probably take another 3 years to develop this drug. Max Wallack is a student at Boston University Academy. His great grandmother, Gertrude, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. Max is the founder of PUZZLES TO REMEMBER. PTR is a project that provides puzzles to nursing homes and veterans institutions that care for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Subscribe to the Alzheimer’s Reading Room Enter Your Email Address More About the Alzheimer’s Reading Room Alzheimer’s Caregivers Advice and Insight (20 articles) Test Your Memory for Alzheimer’s (5 Best Self Assessment Tests) Alzheimer’s Disease Statistics What is Alzheimer’s? What are the Eight Types of Dementia?

Original Source of Study Finds "Brain Rust" as a Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease