A new model for Alzheimer’s

By Melissa Lutz Blouin

Researchers at UF and The Johns Hopkins University have developed a line of genetically altered mice that model the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This model may help scientists identify new therapies to provide relief to patients who are beginning to experience symptoms. The researchers reported their findings in The Journal of Neuroscience. “The development of this model could help scientists identify new ways to enhance brain function in patients in the early stages of the disease,” said David Borchelt, Ph.D., a professor of neuroscience in the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute and director of the SantaFe HealthCare Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. “Such therapies could preserve brain function longer and delay the appearance of more severe symptoms that leave patients unable to care for themselves.”