Creation of new brain cells plays an underappreciated role in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease
PET scan of a human brain with Alzheimer’s disease. Credit: public domain

Much of the research on the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease focuses on amyloid beta (Aß), a protein that accumulates in the brain as the disease progresses. Excess Aß proteins form clumps or “plaques” that disrupt communication between brain cells and trigger inflammation, eventually leading to widespread loss of neurons and brain tissue.

Aß plaques will continue to be a for Alzheimer’s researchers. However, new work by neuroscientists at the University of Chicago looks at another process that plays an underappreciated role in the progression of the disease.

In a new study published in the Journal of…

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