Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common brain conditions that causes memory loss and confusion, especially in older people. It slowly gets worse over time and affects millions of people around the world.
Even though scientists have been studying this disease for many years, they still don’t fully understand what causes it or how to cure it. This makes Alzheimer’s very hard to treat.
For a long time, many researchers believed that a protein called amyloid-beta was the main cause. This protein builds up in the brain and forms sticky clumps known as plaques. These plaques are thought to damage brain cells and cause the memory and thinking problems seen in people with Alzheimer’s.
A lot of research has focused on finding ways to remove or block this protein, but so far, the results have been disappointing. Treatments aimed at getting rid of amyloid plaques have not worked as well as hoped.
Now, a different idea is gaining attention. Instead of focusing only on the plaques, some scientists are looking at how cells in the brain make and use energy. Inside each cell, there are tiny parts called mitochondria. These are like little engines that produce energy to keep the cells working properly. If the mitochondria don’t work well, the whole cell can start to fail.
Researchers from Yale-NUS College recently did a study that supports this newer idea. They found that problems with how cells use energy can happen very early—before any amyloid plaques are seen in the brain. This suggests that energy problems might be one of the first steps in Alzheimer’s disease, not just a result of the disease later on.
To study this, the scientists used a small worm called Caenorhabditis elegans. These worms are often used in medical research because their cells share many features with human cells. The researchers noticed that as these worms got older, their mitochondria started to fail and their cells had trouble using energy. This happened before any signs of Alzheimer’s-related plaques appeared.
The team then tried giving the worms a common diabetes drug called Metformin. People with diabetes often take this medicine to help control their blood sugar. In the worms, Metformin fixed the energy problems in their cells.
Even more surprising, the worms lived longer and stayed healthier after being treated. This suggests that Metformin—or drugs like it—might help protect the brain by fixing energy problems before Alzheimer’s has a chance to start.
Based on this study, the scientists believe that it might be better to treat Alzheimer’s early by focusing on the mitochondria and how cells manage energy. This would be a big shift from the old approach, which waited for plaques to appear before starting treatment. By acting earlier, it may be possible to stop or slow the disease before it causes serious damage.
The study also brings up an important idea about aging in general. As we grow older, many systems in our body—including how our cells make energy—start to slow down.
The researchers think that Alzheimer’s might actually be part of this normal aging process, rather than a separate disease that appears out of nowhere. If that’s true, then taking care of how our bodies age could be key to preventing Alzheimer’s and other age-related illnesses.
In the end, while scientists still have a lot to learn about Alzheimer’s, this new research gives hope. It shows that by fixing the energy issues in cells early, we might one day stop the disease before it starts.
The study, led by Jan Gruber and published in the journal eLife, could change the way we think about Alzheimer’s and open up new paths for keeping our brains healthy as we age.
If you care about Alzheimer’s, please read studies about the likely cause of Alzheimer’s disease , and new non-drug treatment that could help prevent Alzheimer’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about diet that may help prevent Alzheimer’s, and results showing some dementia cases could be prevented by changing these 12 things.
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