Alzheimer’s-Like Clumping Proteins Found in Diseased Hearts

Protein clumps accumulate until they obstruct physiological function. It’s a common theme in neurology, where clumps of β -amyloid are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, just as clumps of α -synuclein are the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. Now protein clumps are being recognized in cardiology. Specifically, clumps of desmin, a muscle-specific protein that forms support structures in heart cells, appear to be more common in heart failure patients than those withou