Metal in the Head? Alzheimer’s Causes Studied

Photo: Ann Larie Valentine / flickr / cc by-sa

• “AD” refers to Alzheimer’s disease.
• AD is a neurodegenerative disorder, common with the aging person.
• New research reveals novel way of understanding iron abundance within the grey matter of the brain, and the prevalence of AD.
• Iron deposit is a measure of iron homeostasis, or equilibrium which is evidence of inflammation responses to neurodegeneration.
• LA-ICP-MS refers to laser ablation- inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry imaging, a highly sensitive method used to break apart and analyze metals.
• Researchers, through the use of LA-ICP-MS were able to analyze iron and phosphorous deposit in the gray matter between a live, and a deceased brain
• The study found a positive correlation between iron deposits and myelin integrity loss, indicative of neuronal cell-breakdown.
• Read more, at NeuroImage.