Structural biology: Serpins' mystery solved.

The article discusses that polymers of serpin proteins underlie diseases, including neurodegenerative disorders. It is said that Alois Alzheimer has offered a description on the abnormal aggregates of the amyloid protein in the brain of a patient who has died of dementia. The known conformational diseases include prion diseases, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease and several disorders known as serpinopathies. It is mentioned that the serpin polymer is correctly folded and resembles the relaxed serpin, which does not evoke protective signalling pathway.