amyloid beta

noun

variants or amyloid-beta

ˈa-mə-ˌlȯid-ˈbā-tə 

 chiefly British  -ˌbē-tə

or amyloid beta protein or amyloid-beta protein or amyloid beta peptide or amyloid-beta peptide

: beta-amyloid

In Alzheimer's, the possible infectious agent under scrutiny is a protein called amyloid-beta best known as the main ingredient in the hulking, sticky gobs of plaque found in the brains of people with the disease.

—Laura Sanders

In Alzheimer's patients, the amyloid beta protein somehow goes off track and clumps together in sticky plaques that destroy healthy brain tissue.

—Nancy McVicar

Examples of amyloid beta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Although the precise causes of Alzheimer’s are still not fully understood, the disease is defined by specific brain changes, such as amyloid beta plaques. —Sandra Rose Salathe, Flow Space, 12 July 2024

Johnson and his team analyzed the participants’ CSF, the fluid surrounding the brain, for proteins connected to the most common Alzheimer’s pathology: amyloid beta and tau protein aggregations in the brain. —Rohan Rajeev, STAT, 28 June 2024

As with aquaporin 4, blocking the expression of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide simultaneously blocked the clearance of amyloid beta; the effectiveness of the gamma stimulation fell apart. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024

Finally, the lymph nodes in the necks of the mice that received 40-hertz stimulation were chock full of amyloid beta compared to those of the control group, suggesting that the harmful protein had been successfully drained out of the brain. —William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

amyloid beta

noun

variants or amyloid-beta or amyloid beta protein or amyloid-beta protein or amyloid beta peptide or amyloid-beta protein

: beta-amyloid

Small amounts of amyloid beta are generated as an ordinary metabolic byproduct and are believed to do no harm, but larger amounts seem to be tied to Alzheimer's.

—January W. Payne, U.S. News & World Report

In Alzheimer's patients, the amyloid beta protein somehow goes off track and clumps together in sticky plaques that destroy healthy brain tissue.

—Nancy McVicar, The Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

The treatment targets the buildup of lumps of protein fragments called amyloid beta peptides, which is the dominant theory of the cause of Alzheimer's.

—Victoria Colliver, The San Francisco Chronicle