September 20, 2006 -- Researchers at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) have identified a potential new avenue for reducing the build up of toxic amyloid ß (Aß) proteins, which are suspected of causing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). They discovered that the enzyme cathepsin B (CatB) effectively destroys small as well as large clusters of Aß. Previously, CatB had been suspected of increasing Aß production in AD patients.
