Though Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a common and fatal neurodegenerative brain disorder, most of AD treatments seem to not be making much headway to unravel the mystery of its cause. Many AD drugs have targeted the elimination of beta-amyloid (A?) or amyloid plaques, which block cell-to-cell signaling at synapses. But some AD patients continue to show neurodegeneration and cognitive decline even after the removal of the amyloid plaques. Conversely, many people indicate no signs of neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment even in very high level of A?. Also, it has never been precisely clear as to why the star-shaped non-neuronal cells, called astrocytes, change in their shapes and functions from the early onset of AD, and continue such reactive state throughout the AD progression.
Researchers at the Center for Cognition and Sociality, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and…
