CONy 2021 | Ongoing studies on oxidative stress and Alzheimer’s disease

George Perry, PhD, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, shares current research investigating oxidative stress and Alzheimer’s disease. The focus of recent experiments is primarily to understand the mechanism for amyloid-β protection. It is known that the formation of amyloid-β plaques is related to interactions with biometals, especially iron and copper. Therefore, recent studies have looked at the different forms of iron and copper present in the amyloid-β plaques and were able to define the oxidation state of both biometals in the plaques. Interestingly, there was a dominance of metallic iron and metallic copper, which had never been found in the human body before. Further studies are taking place to better understand the mechanisms of production as well as look at neurofibrillary tangles. This interview was conducted during the virtual 2021 World Congress on Controversies in Neurology (CONy).