By analyzing disease mechanisms in human neurons, researchers led by the University of California San Diego developed a new method to screen drugs for treating Alzheimer’s disease. Their work sheds light on why Alzheimer’s drugs so far have been ineffective at curing or reversing the disease and identifies new targets for drug development.
The findings, reported in a paper published Jan. 27 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, could help pave the way for radically new therapeutic approaches to treating Alzheimer’s.
Drug development for Alzheimer’s has long been driven by the hypothesis that amyloid plaques — formed by the buildup of amyloid-beta proteins in the brain — are what kill neurons and cause Alzheimer’s. As a result, many research efforts have focused on designing drugs that clear out these plaques.
“But this approach has not led to a cure…
