Alzheimer’s disease is the top cause of memory loss and dementia in older people all around the world.
It slowly damages the brain and leads to problems with thinking, remembering, and doing daily tasks. Even though scientists have been studying Alzheimer’s for over 20 years, they still do not fully understand what causes it. So far, no cure has been found.
There are two main ideas about what might cause Alzheimer’s. One idea is that a sticky protein called amyloid-beta builds up in the brain and causes damage. This idea has been around for a long time.
The second idea, which is newer, is that the brain cells stop making energy properly. This energy is made in small parts of the cell called mitochondria. When mitochondria do not work well, the brain cells cannot stay healthy.
A new study from Yale-NUS College gives strong support to the second idea. The scientists found that problems with how cells use energy—called metabolism—start happening early, even before the sticky protein builds up in the brain. This means that energy problems could be the real beginning of Alzheimer’s.
To do their study, the scientists used tiny worms called Caenorhabditis elegans. These worms are very small but have cells that work a lot like human cells, so they are often used in research. The scientists noticed that the worms had trouble with their metabolism before they showed any signs of protein build-up. This was a very important discovery.
Even more exciting, the scientists gave the worms a common medicine used to treat diabetes. It’s called Metformin.
After getting the medicine, the worms had fewer energy problems and lived longer. This shows that it may be possible to stop or slow down Alzheimer’s by fixing energy problems early on, before the brain gets damaged by the protein.
The researchers believe that these energy problems in the cells happen naturally as people get older. That means aging itself might be the main reason why diseases like Alzheimer’s appear. So instead of trying to treat Alzheimer’s after people already have it, it might be smarter to focus on keeping the cells healthy as people age.
This study was led by Jan Gruber and was published in a scientific journal called eLife. It gives a fresh new way of thinking about Alzheimer’s. Instead of only looking at the protein build-up, scientists and doctors could focus on the energy-making parts of the cells to protect the brain and help people stay healthy longer.
If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies that bad lifestyle habits can cause Alzheimer’s disease, and strawberries can be good defence against Alzheimer’s.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that oral cannabis extract may help reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms, and Vitamin E may help prevent Parkinson’s disease.
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