Updated: Wednesday, 20 Oct 2010, 6:04 AM EDT Published :
Tuesday, 19 Oct 2010, 5:13 PM EDT New Haven, Conn. (WTNH) -
Every 70 seconds someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease
in this country. But a new Yale University study shows promise
in reversing the effects of Alzheimer's disease . The exciting
news comes 20 years after the study's author, Paul Lombroso,
first discovered the protein called striatal-enriched tyrosine
phosphatase, or STEP. Lombroso is a professor at the Yale Child
Study Center and says the brain needs glutenate receptors to
learn and to make memories. His new research shows that too much
of the STEP protein is bad for the memory process. The elevation
of STEP is leading to the removal of glutenate receptors and
therefore you don't have them and you don't form long-term
memories," Dr. Lombroso explained. Researchers found that when
they reduced the STEP protein in lab mice with Alzheimer's, they
were able to reduce the effects of Alzheimer's. Lombroso hopes
the research will lead to th