Search for a Cure

More than one hundred years ago, Alois Alzheimer described for the first time the disease that now bears his name. In spite of intense research, there is still no medication that can cure Alzheimer's. But the biologists working with Professor Haass at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich are hot on the tracks of the disease—with the help of the zebra fish. As en embryo, this fish is transparent, thereby allowing researchers to observe developments and changes in a living organism. Will the zebra fish help scientists to understand Alzheimer’s?

 
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03
Search for a Cure: Episode 03, 10/08/2009

More Than Just Pretty

 

Only the best for the little one: the zebra fish is nurtured and cared for. Because only when the fish is healthy, does it produce many eggs — and these are the basis for the Alzheimer's research. They will be genetically changed in such a way that the fish will later develop the same symptoms as an Alzheimer's patient. This is possible for a reason one might not suspect at first glance: fish have an internal blueprint similar to that of humans. Among other things, the nerve cells in a zebra fish function in the same way as they do in a human brain. Will there soon be more fish darting about in the zebra fish tank?

At a glance

University: LMU Munich
 
Field of Research: Biology, Cellular Neuroscience, Medicine
 
Location: Munich
 
Episodes: 7
 
Season/Year: 2. Season/ 2009
 
Status: Finished
 
Topics: crabs, water quality, ph level, fish eggs, fins, gills
 
 
15.06.2009

Search for a Cure

The fight against forgetting: zebra fish help understand Alzheimer's
 
30.06.2009

A Look Into the Brain

Alzheimer's: no longer knowing where you are, who you are or what you were going to do... To find an agent that counters this most frequent form of dementia, the researchers have bred thousands of zebra fish.
 
13.07.2009

The Nerve Killer

Amyloid – a protein which plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Everyone has it in their body, but not everyone develops the disease. But why?
 
10.08.2009

More Than Just Pretty

Only the best for the little one: what do zebra fish need in order to lay as many of the much sought-after eggs as possible?
 
26.10.2009

Larvae Lights

How do you make an Alzheimer's fish? First, human DNA must be injected into the fish larvae—no easy task…
 
11.11.2009

Coloured Fish

Success! Dominik’s fish are carrying the Alzheimer’s gene. But will they also develop the characteristic symptoms?
 
12.11.2009

A Long Road

Can we use methylene blue against cell death? In search of a drug that treats the causes of Alzheimer's…
 
 
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