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The article discusses research on the ability of mutant tau protein to assemble wild-type tau into filaments and the potential for this pathology to spread to adjacent regions of the brain. It references the study "Transmission and Spreading of Tauopathy in Transgenic Mouse Brain," by Florence J. Clavaguera et al, published in the 2009 issue of the "Nature Cell Biology." Brain extracts were obtained from transgenic mice expressing the Pro301Ser mutant form of tau in humans. The implications of the findings for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are cited.

Reports evidence that raised plasma homocysteine concentrations and a mutation in the methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene, which produces a variant that prevents regulation of homocysteine within the normal narrow range, may be important risk factors for spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD). Brief data from the study by Pezzini et al of the University of Brescia in Italy.

Reports that researchers in the United States have discovered a class of wildtype HIV-1 that has the potential to become resistant to zidovudine. Identification of a group of viruses while screening for mutations associated with drug-resistance in a number of treatment-naive patients who had been diagnosed with HIV-1; How the mutations increase the ability of the virus to give rise to a zidovudine-resistant strain.

States that United States researchers have shown that mutations in the ADAMTS13 gene are responsible for the familial form of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP). Details of the study by Gallia Levy et al at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor; Topic of how missense mutations in the gene reduce the amount of active protease available to cleave the blood protein von Willebrand factor (VWF); Observation of large multimeric forms of VWF in plasma of TTP patients.

Focuses on the discovery that mutations in two genes lead to iron deposition in the basal ganglia and the implication for genetic neurodegenerative disorders. Details of the study by John Burn et al showing that neuroferritinopathy is due to a mutation in the gene for ferritin light polypeptide, a component of the main iron storage protein; Description of the study by Hayflick et al identifying the genetic basis for Hallervorden-Spatz syndrome.

States that researchers have linked mutations in cathepsin C with the autosomal recessive disorder Papillon-LeFevre syndrome (PLS). Role of PLS in periodontitis and tool loss; Symptoms and rarity of the disorder.

Reports on findings that women with early-stage breast cancer who are treated conservatively with lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy, and who later relapsed, are more likely to carry one of the BRCA mutations. Details of studies done; Treatment through the use of tamoxifen.

Reports the discovery that a gene mutation was responsible for familial British dementia (FBD). Release of insoluble ARbi amino acid peptide due to the mutation of gene BRI; How this leads to amyloid desposition; Implications of the discovery for treating FBD and other neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's disease; Call for further research on the FBD amyloid.