A key protein that plays a critical role in nicotine addiction--the alpha-7 receptor--could also be a key player in the fight against obesity, Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and a long list of other such ailments.

Researchers at Brown University have focused their attention on the alpha-7 receptor and discovered interactions with 55 other proteins. A new generation of alpha-7 drugs, they add, could make up for a loss of acetylcholine found in Alzheimer's and similar types of diseases. 

"These [receptors] as a group are very important because they control a lot of critical functions, like heart rate,'' lead author Edward Hawrot tells the Boston Globe. "What was surprising was that we saw a connection between [the] proteins, because these two receptor families are very, very different.''

"When you don't have enough acetylcholine released to activate the receptors, people can't remember and they have cognitive impairment,'' Merouane Bencherif, vice president at Targacept, tells the newspaper. "What we would do is provide a drug that is not metabolized that acts on nicotinic receptors. So essentially, you're compensating for the deficit that exists in Alzheimer's disease.''

- read the article in the Boston Globe