A multitude of genes have been linked to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically how those genes might influence the progression of neurodegeneration remains something of a black box though, in part because of the challenges of examining in molecular detail the brain of a living patient.
Using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collected from living patients, a team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has for the first time linked disease-related proteins and genes to identify specific cellular pathways responsible for Alzheimer’s genesis and progression. Because these proteins were gathered from CSF, they are a good proxy for activity in the brain, and several of them may be potential targets for therapies.