Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and mainly affects older adults. It causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior, and can greatly impact a person’s daily life.
While there are treatments that help manage symptoms, there is still no cure. Scientists around the world continue to study this disease to understand what causes it.
So far, there are two main ideas about what might cause Alzheimer’s. The first theory is that a protein called amyloid-beta builds up in the brain. This buildup can block brain cells from communicating properly.
The second theory, which is newer, suggests that Alzheimer’s may be caused by problems with how cells in the brain produce energy—a problem known as metabolic dysfunction.
A recent study led by Jan Gruber from Yale-NUS College supports this second theory. The researchers used tiny worms called Caenorhabditis elegans, which share some similar cell features with humans. They discovered that the worms had issues with their metabolism even before the harmful amyloid-beta protein started building up.
One exciting part of the study was what happened when the worms were given Metformin, a medicine commonly used to treat diabetes. Metformin helped fix the worms’ metabolic problems and even restored their health and lifespan to normal levels.
This suggests that improving how cells produce energy—especially in the mitochondria, the “powerhouse” of the cell—might help prevent Alzheimer’s.
The researchers also raised an interesting idea: diseases like Alzheimer’s might not be completely separate illnesses. Instead, they could be signs of aging. That means by focusing on slowing down aging itself, we might also prevent age-related diseases.
This study is a big step forward in understanding Alzheimer’s. It suggests that fixing energy problems in cells could help fight the disease. Still, scientists need to do more research to see if this works in humans and if medicines like Metformin are safe and effective for this purpose.
The findings were published in the journal eLife and bring hope for new and better ways to treat or even prevent Alzheimer’s disease in the future.
If you care about Alzheimer’s, please read studies about Vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, and Oral cannabis extract may help reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and results showing flavonoid-rich foods could improve survival in Parkinson’s disease.
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