Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School have identified new targets for treating and preventing Alzheimer’s disease, according to MIT.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative brain disease that affects people’s memory and other mental functions. Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by cells ceasing to function or dying, and the diseases usually worsen over time.
The creation of new drugs for the disease is integral, as current medications aren’t as effective as is needed, the institution said.
The researchers used data from humans and fruit flies to identify what might lead to neurodegeneration and contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
By examining genes found in fruit fly brain cells, the researchers were able to see how quickly the flies developed brain disease as they got older, MIT said.
Through the process, the researchers identified 200 genes that accelerated brain disease in the flies and found that many of those genes may also cause something similar in humans.
In a separate part of the study, the scientists used data linked to Alzheimer’s disease to understand how different versions of genes change the levels of certain proteins. Using two different methods, the researchers linked certain genes to Alzheimer’s development.
“All the evidence that we have indicates that there are many different pathways involved in the progression of Alzheimer’s. It is multifactorial, and that may be why it’s been so hard to develop effective drugs,” says Ernest Fraenkel, professor in Health Sciences and Technology in MIT’s Department of Biological Engineering and the senior author of the study. “We will need some kind of combination of treatments that hit different parts of this disease.”
Alzheimer’s disease is understood by some to be due to a buildup of abnormal proteins, also known as amyloid plaques, in the brain. Current medications help block or break down these plaques, the institution said.
However, more needs to be done to understand whether there are other ways of treating or preventing the disease.
“One possibility is that maybe there’s more than one cause of Alzheimer’s, and that even in a single person, there could be multiple contributing factors,” Fraenkel said.
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The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The team of scientists aims to collaborate with other labs to explore whether their findings could be applied to the creation of drugs to improve neuron health.
“The search for Alzheimer’s drugs will get dramatically accelerated when there are very good, robust experimental systems,” Fraenkel said. “We’re coming to a point where a couple of really innovative systems are coming together.”
The research comes after the National Institutes of Health terminated hundreds of grants worth billions of dollars. The number hasn’t been confirmed with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s minority staff report stating over $2.7 billion, while other estimates ballpark it at $1.8 billion.
MIT is among those suing the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation after federal officials attempted to slash indirect costs at grant-receiving institutions, which refers to the overhead costs for institutions that receive grants.
“Besides its destructive impact on research and training, this latest effort violates longstanding federal laws and regulations that govern grantmaking. We are seeking to prevent implementation of this poorly conceived and short-sighted policy, which will only hurt the American people and weaken the country. We look forward to making our case,” the organizations suing said in a statement.