Alzheimer’s Disease

Rapamycin increases Alzheimer’s-associated plaques in mice, study finds
June 7, 2022
The research also reveals a novel way to decrease the plaques. This is a potential drug target. Researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) have found that oral administration of rapamycin to an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model causes an increase in beta (β)-amyloid protein plaques. β-amyloid […]

NIA: Senescent brain cells may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease
May 26, 2022
New research shows senescent brain cells, damaged cells that do not die off, are found more in Alzheimer’s disease than in people without the disease. The study was led by researchers at NIA-supported Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the Biggs Institute at the University of Texas Health […]

In the race to solve Alzheimer’s disease, scientists find more needles in the haystack
April 20, 2022
21 million. That’s the number of genetic variations in the human genome that researchers are sifting to identify patterns predisposing people to Alzheimer’s disease. Thanks to international collaboration, more genetic variations for Alzheimer’s disease are known today than ever before. The list of gene variants recognized for late-onset Alzheimer’s grew from one in 2009 to […]

TPR: Latinos are disproportionately impacted by Alzheimer’s. South Texas researchers want to find out why.
December 28, 2021
Statistical data shows “clustering” of Alzheimer’s cases in specific communities — not spread out evenly like other diseases. To read the full article, visit Texas Public Radio.

Researchers develop a method to detect toxic brain cells; this could be a step toward a new Alzheimer’s treatment
December 10, 2021
Emerging evidence suggests it may be possible to treat Alzheimer’s disease by targeting therapy at senescent cells in the brain. Today (Dec. 10) in the journal Nature Aging, a team from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and Wake Forest School of Medicine reported the first method, based on computational analysis, to […]

Biggs Institute gains $2M to study rapamycin for Alzheimer’s
August 25, 2020
In the war on cancer and other diseases including COVID-19, old drugs approved for other conditions are being studied for new purposes. It’s a strategy that will now be tested in Alzheimer’s disease with a drug called rapamycin. A $2 million grant will enable a clinical trial in which 40 individuals with mild cognitive impairment […]