
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, March 2, 1992                   TAG: 9203020113
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A/10   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: CAMBRIDGE, MASS.                                LENGTH: Short

CHEMICAL DISORDER LINKED TO ALZHEIMER'S

Researchers have isolated a chemical disorder unique to sufferers of Alzheimer's disease, a finding they say may lead to more effective drugs to treat the illness.

The disorder involves the way brain cells use choline. The chemical is an important building block not only for brain cell membranes, but also for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found that choline levels in the brains of Alzheimer's victims are much lower than normal.

MIT announced on Friday the results of the study, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a leading science journal.

Earlier studies found two other chemical abnormalities in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, but neither of those were exclusive to Alzheimer's.

- Associated Press

by CNB