Scientists identified a sequence of events involving immune cells and proteins that become abnormal in Alzheimer's disease. They suggest that this could be the starting point for the brain-wasting disorder and they identify two proteins that might serve as drug targets for stopping or even reversing its symptoms.

In the journal Cell Reports, researchers from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill describe how amyloid beta triggers immune cells to cause inflammation that damages neurons, and how that damage leads to bead-like formations filled with abnormal tau.

Study leader Todd Cohen, Ph.D., an assistant professor of neurology at UNC, says, "It's exciting that we were able to observe tau - the major Alzheimer's protein - inside these beaded structures."

Read more at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319224.php