Dr. Thomas Montine and colleagues analyzed the brain tissue of select volunteers from the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) study, wherein 3,400 adult participants (65+) in the Seattle region agreed to undergo neurological and psychological tests every two years until their death

While some results were unsurprising, such as showing that changes due to Alzheimer's disease or the formation of Lewy bodies (structures indicative of a degenerative disease known as Lewy Body Dementia) accounted for significant dementia risk, the researchers also found that about 33% of dementia risk was associated with brain damage from small vessel disease. This small vessel damage is the cumulative effect of multiple tiny strokes caused by hypertension and diabetes, strokes so small that the person experiences no sensation or problems until they reach a tipping point.

While unexpected, this finding may be good news, because while Alzheimer's treatments remain investigational, there are many options to reduce hypertension and diabetes.

asbmb/

The reasons for this trend are not clear: loose connections between vascular cells may make it easier for tumor cells to break off and enter the blood stream, or low blood flow and oxygen levels in the tumor environment may cause free radicals to build up, spurring further mutations and malignancy.

Either way, says Dr. Ranscht, Our work provides a cautionary example that restricting tumor angiogenesis might result in more aggressive disease in the long run. Thus, anti-angiogenic therapies should be carefully evaluated, because if growth at the primary tumor site slows but at the same time women develop more aggressive, metastatic cancers, then it is imperative to develop and add treatments that prevent this.

This study also showed for the first time in a living model that T-cadherin is essential for binding adiponectin, a hormone produced by fatty tissue that is released in inversely proportional amounts to body fat. Adiponectin has a protective effect against metabolic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke; now for the first time it is linked in a living model with vascular function, a relationship that the Burnham team is still exploring. While the link between obesity and breast cancer is complex, this study shows that in the mouse, T-cadherin sequesters much of the adiponectin and thus provides a conceptual link between obesity and breast cancer notes Dr. Oshima.

burnham-inst/