Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the progressive destruction of brain cells and their contacts (neurons and synapses). The brains of Alzheimer patients exhibit protein deposits known as amyloid plaques. The symptoms of the disease are memory disorders, disorientation, speech impediments, impaired thinking and judgment, and even personality changes.

How the disease develops has never been fully explained, neither the fact that women are over represented in the prevalence of Alzheimer. This research program aims at bringing new answers to these questions through the identification of a gene that could be a strong determinant for the gender-specific differences. This could then open new doors to developing active components to the treatment of a disease that may impact, in the next decades, millions of people across the globe.  

In the latest development of this research program, scientists have identified a gene that may provide a new starting point for developing treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The USP9 gene has an indirect influence on the so-called tau protein, which is believed to play a significant role in the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

More information: http://bit.ly/2jP4NmY

In August 2022, scientists from the Luxembourg Center for Systems Biomedicine published their latest research, "Single-Cell Transcriptional Profiling and Gene Regulatory Network Modeling in Tg2576 Mice Reveal Gender-Dependent Molecular Features Preceding Alzheimer-Like Pathologies", which can be consulted here.