Scientists Have Discovered a Way to Speed Up Alzheimer's Drug Testing

A new study in Molecular Psychiatry details how researchers at Queen Mary University of London created a new system to efficiently screen potential Alzheimer's drug treatments that may be able to dramatically accelerate development of a cure, reports Being Patient . The authors considered a group of people with Down Syndrome, who have an up to 70 percent higher likelihood of developing Alzheimer's in their lifetime because they have an extra chromosome 21. The researchers collected hair cells from participants and reprogrammed them into stem cells, then cultivated them into brain cells in a petri dish. They noted a rapidly developing Alzheimer's pathology that included amyloid plaque-like lesions, progressive neuron death, and buildup of tau protein entangled within neurons. Applying two beta-amyloid-inhibiting drugs to the new brain cells prevented onset of Alzheimer's pathology within six weeks, demonstrating proof of concept. "This system opens up the prospect for screening for new drugs aimed at delaying or even preventing Alzheimer's before neuronal death starts," said Queen Mary University of London Professor Dean Nizetic.