Nitric oxide link to Alzheimer’s

A new connection between neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and nitric oxide (NO) has been established by UK scientists.

Researchers from the University of Leicester hope their findings that the compound can change the computational ability of the brain will improve understanding of its function.

NO, found in the central nervous system, is a chemical message that cannot be stored but rapidly diffuses across cell membranes to act at remote cites.

The influence it imposes upon synaptic transmission contributes to learning and memory mechanisms.

However, because it is normally released in such minute quantities and is so labile, it is very difficult to study.

“We have exploited an in vitro preparation of a giant synapse – called the calyx of Held, developed here at the University of Leicester in the 1990s – and its target in the auditory pathway,” said Professor Ian Forsythe of the Medical Research Council toxicology unit at the University of Leicester in the journal Neuron.

He went on to say NO is made in response to incoming synaptic activity – sound received by the ear that creates activity – and acts to suppress a key potassium ion-channel (Kv3).