Pac-Man (Enzyme) Could Help Fight Alzheimer's

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Pac-Man (Enzyme) Could Help Fight Alzheimer's


Researchers at the Mayo Clinic [http://www.mayoclinic.com/] have made new discoveries about a "Pac-Man enzyme" that could help in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

Insulin-degrading enzyme, otherwise known as IDE, is shaped like a clamshell and opens and shuts similar to the Pac-Man character. The enzyme opens and closes around amyloid plaques linked to Alzheimer's disease, "gobbling up the protein inside." Researchers at the Florida-based Mayo Clinic have discovered a way to speed up the activity of the Pac-Man enzyme, increasing the rate of breakdown and hopefully slowing the progression of the disease.

"The amyloid protein that forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer's has long been a target for researchers trying to develop new treatments. There are different approaches to tackling the build-up of this protein, like blocking it from forming or breaking it down," said Alzheimer's Research Trust [http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/news/article.php?type=News&id=397] CEO Rebecca Wood. "This fascinating technique, using the 'Pac-Man' enzyme, suggests it may be possible to help the body break amyloid down. The work is at very early stages in the laboratory, but every avenue must be explored. With more research, this study could lead us towards the treatments we so desperately need."

Recognition of IDE as the "Pac-Man enzyme" may be a testament to the mainstreaming of videogames in the collective consciousness but it's not the only one: The Pikachurin [http://www.bio.davidson.edu/Courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2003/Watson/Sonichedgehog.htm] is a "dystroglycan-interacting protein which has an essential role in the precise interactions between the photoreceptor ribbon synapse and the bipolar dendrites."

via: Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/27/pac-man-enzyme-may-eat-away-at-alzheimers/]


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Random Argument Man

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May 21, 2008
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See video games are good for you!

I sure hope they find a cure for Alzheimer's disease. I don't want to forget my whole life away.
 

Brotherofwill

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Jan 25, 2009
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Wait...and how is this related to video-game news?
Yea, the name is kind of neat and it's nice to see video-game terms slowly creeping into the collective dictionary but still... this seems like a far stretch to include as news.

Now if this was about the Shh we'd have ourselves a genuine news story!
 

BobisOnlyBob

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Nov 29, 2007
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TsunamiWombat said:
I only have one problem with this image. It's brilliant in execution, imagination and attention to detail except one:

The yellow suit has an Atari badge on it.
Pac-Man, while released for Atari consoles, was a Namco development.
In fact, the colours match the Namco-built Arcade version, while the Atari 2600 version had hideously bad imagery, and is considered amongst the worst games of all time [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worst_computer_games#Pac-Man_.28Atari_2600.29].

Go flickering ghosts! Flicker against your ugly blue/orange backdrop!




Ontopic, great news... dementia is one of the worst diseases imaginable, and painfully common. A good bit of wakka-wakka to cure the brain would be equally amusing and brilliant.
 

LeonLethality

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Mar 10, 2009
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sweet i always knew pacman would pay off...

sweet i always knew pacman would pay off...

where am i?

nah its great they came up with this discovery one step closer to pac-man pharmacies

sweet i always knew pacman would pay off...
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Known Side Effects May Include:
Vomiting,
Anxiety Attacks,
Rickets,
Pac Man Fever,
Ghost Foot,
Pellet Lung,
and/or Eightiesitis
 

Abedeus

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Sep 14, 2008
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GonzoGamer said:
Known Side Effects May Include:
Vomiting,
Anxiety Attacks,
Rickets,
Pac Man Fever,
Ghost Foot,
Pellet Lung,
and/or Eightiesitis
Worth it, if it cures Pratchett's Alzheimer.
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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Abedeus said:
GonzoGamer said:
Known Side Effects May Include:
Vomiting,
Anxiety Attacks,
Rickets,
Pac Man Fever,
Ghost Foot,
Pellet Lung,
and/or Eightiesitis
Worth it, if it cures Pratchett's Alzheimer.
Indubitably.
Although, I am kind of morbidly curious to see what his last writing will be like if he isn't cured. It'll probably be very reminiscent of Naked Lunch. His stuff is already quite wacky.

It's kind of like how I'm curious to hear what kind of music Tom Waits would make if he ever actually had to have a tracheotomy. Knowing Tom, he'd play it to the hilt.