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

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

Abnormal buildup of the protein amyloid beta in the brain is associated with Alzheimer’s and the new study suggests that amyloid beta contamination may have a connection with the early dementia symptoms experienced by the patients in the study. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 29 Jan. 2024

Although Alzheimer’s is not a prion disease, some separate research suggests that the two proteins that are hallmarks in Alzheimer’s disease — amyloid beta and tau — behave like prions. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 29 Jan. 2024

This study did not, however, find any associations between vitamin D levels in the brain and the presence of lewy bodies or amyloid beta build up that signal the development of lewy body dementia and Alzheimer’s respectively. —Alexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 25 Dec. 2023

As a person ages, amyloid beta tends to accumulate in the brain and can eventually form plaques, which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. —WIRED, 8 Aug. 2023

Costly Pre-approval Tests Because Leqembi works by reducing amyloid beta in the brain, Medicare is requiring that doctors confirm the presence of amyloid. —Fran Kritz, Verywell Health, 14 July 2023

The drug, generically known as lecanemab and manufactured by the pharmaceutical companies Eisai and Biogen, targets amyloid beta, the main component of amyloid plaques -- abnormal, insoluble clusters of protein fragments -- found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. —Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 7 July 2023

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