How do toxic proteins accumulate in Alzheimer’s and other diseases? (Links to an external site)

Stress granules (red) fill stem cell-derived neurons (nuclei shown in blue) from a person with a mutation in the tau gene. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have figured out the connection between tau mutations and stress granules, a discovery which could potentially lead to new approaches to treating a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies.

Under normal circumstances, tau protein is part of the brain’s infrastructure, important for stabilizing neurons into their proper shapes. But sometimes tau gets knotted up into tangles and turns toxic, injuring brain tissue and causing tauopathies, a group of brain diseases characterized by problems with learning, memory and movement. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common […]

Cognitive function in Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer’s focus of grant (Links to an external site)

Neurologist Beau Ances, MD, PhD, talks with his patient, Adam Kloppenberg, who has Down syndrome, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. People with Down syndrome are at very high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Ances is involved in a project led by Jason Hassenstab, PhD, an associate professor of neurology, to develop tools to measure cognitive function in people with Down syndrome-associated Alzheimer’s disease.

Nearly every person with Down syndrome eventually develops Alzheimer’s disease, yet people with the syndrome routinely are excluded from Alzheimer’s clinical trials, as the cognitive assessment tools designed for the general population often are inappropriate for people with developmental disabilities. Consequently, nobody knows whether the new Alzheimer’s therapeutics hitting the market will work for people […]

Study defines disparities in memory care (Links to an external site)

Members of minoritized racial or ethnic groups and people who live in less affluent neighborhoods are less likely than others to receive specialized care for dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates.

Patients who live in less affluent neighborhoods and those from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups are less likely than others to receive specialized care for dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates. Further, the research shows that Black people are more likely than white people […]

Tau-based biomarker tracks Alzheimer’s progression (Links to an external site)

Kanta Horie, PhD, works with a mass spectrometer that he uses to measure protein levels in cerebrospinal fluid samples. Horie and colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Lund University in Sweden have discovered that a form of the protein tau in the cerebrospinal fluid known as MTBR-tau243 can be used to track the progression of Alzheimer's disease and could speed drug development.

Two pathologies drive the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Early on, amyloid beta plaques lead the way, but around the time cognitive symptoms arise, tau tangles take over as the driving force and cognition steadily declines. Tracking the course of the disease in individual patients has been challenging because there’s been no easy way to measure […]

There’s Now a Rapid, Accurate COVID-19 Air Detector (Links to an external site)

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The COVID-19 pandemic will forever be associated with unprecedented lockdowns and inconveniences such as wearing masks in public. And that’s largely because health experts had no idea exactly where the SARS-CoV-2 virus was lurking, and how risky crowded settings such as workplaces, classrooms, and public transportation were.

Air monitor can detect COVID-19 virus variants in about 5 minutes (Links to an external site)

Clockwise from front left: Cirrito, Chakrabarty, Puthussery and Yuede stand alongside the SARS-CoV-2 wet cyclone aerosol sampler they developed. (Photo: Shubham Sharma)

Now that the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic has ended, scientists are looking at ways to surveil indoor environments in real time for viruses. By combining recent advances in aerosol sampling technology and an ultrasensitive biosensing technique, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of […]

Diagnosis of rare, genetic muscle disease improved by new approach (Links to an external site)

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed an approach that could help doctors distinguish between the many subtypes of limb girdle muscular dystrophy, a rare, genetic muscle disease. With new therapies poised to enter the clinic, identifying the precise subtype is necessary to ensure that people get access to the treatment most likely to benefit them.

It’s not easy to distinguish between the dozens of subtypes of limb girdle muscular dystrophy — a rare, genetic muscle disease characterized by weakness in the hips and shoulders that causes difficulty walking and lifting the arms. Until now, determining the subtype has not been critical in caring for patients, because no specific treatments have […]

When Gut Bacteria May Be an Early Sign of Alzheimer’s Disease (Links to an external site)

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When it comes to a disease as complex as Alzheimer’s, scientists have found a number of factors that can contribute to your risk, from genes to circulatory issues, inflammation, and lifestyle behaviors. In a new study published in Science Translational Medicine, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis report on another possible factor: the types of bacteria living […]

Altered gut bacteria may be early sign of Alzheimer’s disease (Links to an external site)

Alzheimer’s disease causes changes to the brain that begin two decades or more before symptoms appear. A study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis reveals that the bacteria that live in the gut also change before Alzheimer’s symptoms arise, a discovery that could lead to diagnostics or treatments for Alzheimer’s disease that target the gut microbiome.

­People in the earliest stage of Alzheimer’s disease — after brain changes have begun but before cognitive symptoms become apparent — harbor an assortment of bacteria in their intestines that differs from the gut bacteria of healthy people, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.