Researchers at the University of California, Riverside, have proposed a new theory suggesting that Alzheimer's disease starts because of a conflict between two proteins, amyloid beta and tau, inside brain cells.

加州大學河濱分校的研究人員提出了一個新理論，認為阿茲海默症是因為腦細胞內兩種蛋白質——β-澱粉樣蛋白與 tau 蛋白之間產生衝突而引起的。

For a long time, scientists believed that amyloid beta plaques outside the cells were the primary cause of the disease. However, many clinical trials failed to help patients after removing these plaques, which suggests that the plaques might be a result of the disease rather than the cause. Consequently, researchers are now focusing on what happens inside the neurons.

長期以來，科學家認為細胞外的 β-澱粉樣蛋白斑塊是此病的主因。然而，許多臨床試驗在清除這些斑塊後仍無法幫助患者，這顯示斑塊可能是疾病的結果而非原因。因此，研究人員現在將焦點轉向神經元內部發生的情況。

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nexus, explains that amyloid beta and tau proteins compete to attach to microtubules, which are essential for transporting nutrients within the cell. The team found that amyloid beta can push tau away from these microtubules. This process destabilizes the cell's transport system and causes tau to clump together abnormally. Furthermore, as people age, the body's ability to clean out cellular waste decreases, which allows more amyloid beta to build up and increase this competition.

最近發表在《美國國家科學院科學報告》Nexus 的研究解釋，β-澱粉樣蛋白與 tau 蛋白會競爭附著在微管上，而微管對於細胞內輸送營養至關重要。研究團隊發現，β-澱粉樣蛋白會將 tau 蛋白從這些微管上推開。這個過程會使細胞的輸送系統變得不穩定，並導致 tau 蛋白異常凝集。此外，隨著人們年齡增長，身體清理細胞廢物的能力下降，導致更多 β-澱粉樣蛋白積聚並增加這種競爭。

Experts in the field have responded with caution. Michael Kane from the Indiana Center for Recovery asserted that while this model is biologically possible and improves current theories, it is not yet clinical proof. He emphasized that scientists must first confirm these processes in human patients to prove they actually lead to memory loss and cognitive decline.

該領域的專家對此反應較為謹慎。印第安納康復中心的 Michael Kane 指出，雖然這個模型在生物學上是可行的，且改善了現有理論，但尚未有臨床證明。他強調，科學家必須先在人類患者身上確認這些過程，以證明它們確實會導致記憶力喪失與認知能力下降。

Current research suggests a shift toward studying how proteins interact inside the cell. This could lead to new treatments that focus on protecting microtubules and improving how cells clear out waste.

目前的研究建議將焦點轉向研究蛋白質在細胞內部如何互動。這可能會帶來新的治療方法，重點將放在保護微管及改善細胞清理廢物的方式。