Brain cholesterol regulates Alzheimer’s plaques, study reveals

Brain cholesterol regulates Alzheimer's plaques, study reveals
Depletion of cholesterol in astrocytes (right) directly removes amyloid plaques and phosphorylated Tau (left, orange clusters) in an Alzheimer’s mouse model. Credit: Scott Hansen Lab, Scripps Research, Jupiter, Florida.

A team co-led by scientists at Scripps Research has used advanced imaging methods to reveal how the production of the Alzheimer’s-associated protein amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brain is tightly regulated by cholesterol.

Appearing on line Thursday ahead of print in the Aug. 17 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the scientists’ work advances understanding of how Alzheimer’s disease develops and underscores the…

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