Researchers Develop Alzheimer’s Breakthrough
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shironosov/iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston have replicated human brain cells for use in ongoing Alzheimer’s disease research.
The study, published in the journal Nature, details the work done to create a petri dish with human brain cells that develop telltale structures linked to Alzheimer’s. That breakthrough, researchers say, could be an aid in researching the disease. Until now, they say, the only means of testing drugs to treat Alzheimer’s was by using mice that developed an imperfect form of the disease.
The petri dish is still an imperfect substitute, as it lacks immune system cells and other components of a human brain. Still, it will allow for researchers to quickly, cheaply and easily test drugs that could halt the progress of the disease, according to the New York Times.
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