A study by UT Southwestern researchers finds that changing the biochemistry of parts of brain cells abolished the formation of amyloid beta plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease. The finding, published in eLife, might eventually lead to treatments that prevent the memory-robbing condition in humans.
“We envision that drugs that act on the same protein we inhibited in these mice could someday play a similar role in Alzheimer’s disease as statins do in heart disease, helping to prevent the condition from ever developing,” said Joachim Herz, M.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics, Neurology, and Neuroscience at UTSW. Dr. Herz led the study, and graduate student Connie Wong was a co-lead author.
Nearly 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, with the vast majority developing a late-onset form that arises after age 65. Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by brain cells…
