Alzheimer's and Hermès: Up in Knots
Aloysius Alzheimer discovered anomalies in the brains of patients who were admitted for psychiatric care in Germany. The pathology was consistent with symptoms of dementia. (Image: Dr. K of $TEMmers 2019 calendar by AKJAM Publishing)
There is nothing like a beautifully knotted tie. Hearing the smoothness of silk pulling through the loop is relaxing, while stiffening up the knot adds a structured assurance. But Knots can quickly become tangles. Getting it just right is not only for neckties.
Alzheimer’s disease, the prominent cause of dementia, can form when specific proteins in the brain tangle up. We can’t simply untangle proteins like we do ties after a hard workday. The growing number of cases and cost of care is increasing, but research has a long way to go to find a real solution. Hermès created a necktie to bring awareness to this debilitating disease and support research with its collaboration with the Alzheimer’s Association.
Here’s the breakdown of ties, knots, and Alzheimer’s.
Knotted Up
Fashion:
There are a few ways to tie a necktie. The more structured Windsor knot style is for board meetings, the looser knot for an Ascot tie if you’re hanging out with Eliza Doolittle at the race tracks.
An Ascot necktie is a looser knot as shown here in a frame of My Fair Lady. (Image: The vast internet)
Hermès’ “The Story Behind” (R) and product description (L) explains that sales from their limited-edition tie help research efforts. Can’t escape science!
Hermès and the Alzheimer’s Association partnered to make a tie with their color and symbol. (Image: hermes.com)
There are 4 basic types of neckties- Windsor (neat, mostly symmetrical), half-Windsor (neat, triangular), Schoolboy (simple, asymmetrical), and the Shelby knot (tied inside out, symmetrical). A Windsor knot has 10 steps and is pretty thick. According to 85 ways to Tie a Tie, its notation is Li Co Ri Lo Ci Ro Li Co T.
Nerds at Cavendish used mathematical modeling to discover 85 ties for neckties. (Image: Nature paper Figure 1)
$cientific Tidbit: Lab nerds at the Cavendish Laboratory discovered the possibility of 85 knots. And they published their findings in Nature. That’s STEM for ya.
Science:
Proteins in the brain called Tau get into tangles. This is not good for communicating important messages throughout the nervous system, especially those that deal with memory. There is an underlying problem that causes them to form these tangles and research would like to discover how to prevent or stop them. Unfortunately, disease stage and patient age have usually progressed passed the point of untying the knots. Tau proteins can’t simply be cut with scissors to free knots like with ties.
Richard Branson cuts a necktie. It’s not this easy for tau tangles. (Image: Twitter @richardbranson)
Wha wha what?
Tau proteins stabilize thin hair-like strands in neurons called microtubules. When they can’t, the microtubules start to fall apart and tau proteins form tangles. These are tau neurofibrillary tangles and are one biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Formation in the axons, for example, lead to blocked transmission of messages that regulate memory functions.
Translation: Kinda like when your mom tells your brother to tell you to clean up but his girlfriend gets in the way of him telling you and you never get mom’s message and then you are in trouble.
Whether tau tangles cause AD or not is still unknown. Tau tangles are not unique to Alzheimer’s. They can’t be removed easily because a bunch of phosphates on them make them insoluble. We need proteins to be soluble because if they build up inside of us, they deter certain functions.
Translation: Kinda like not getting rid of old clothes that have moths in them and adding new clothes to your closet. Those new clothes are going to get ruined by those moths.
A mess of neuronal culture components is a great example of the imbroglio our brains can become with progressive Alzheimer’s and dementia. Other factors like the beta-amyloid protein plaques, genetics, aging, and lifestyle make this one of the more complicated neurodegenerative diseases to cure. Funding for research like what Hermès provided is a great way to participate and make progress.
*This is not an endorsement or advertisement for any brand shown.
Art is $cience
Science is Art
