Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have made a groundbreaking discovery about how a toxic protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease damages brain connections. Using living human brain tissue, they showed that the protein amyloid beta sticks to and harms the connections between brain cells.
The researchers used small pieces of healthy human brain tissue collected during routine neurosurgery operations to demonstrate how the brain does not repair damage caused by the toxic form of amyloid beta. The team hopes this discovery will lead to finding effective treatments to prevent synapse loss, which is vital for healthy brain function.
Dr. Claire Durrant, a leading expert in Alzheimer’s research, said that using living human brain tissue has accelerated their findings and brought them closer to developing a cure. The breakthrough was made possible by the pioneering method developed by the team, which keeps tiny fragments of human brain alive in laboratory dishes for several weeks.
The discovery is significant because it challenges previous assumptions about how brains work, which were often based on studies using rodents. Sir Jackie Stewart, who founded the charity Race Against Dementia after his wife was diagnosed with dementia, praised the researchers’ efforts and said that this breakthrough gives him hope for finding a cure for dementia.
Source: https://www.itv.com/news/2025-04-30/scientists-discover-how-alzheimers-protein-causes-damage-to-the-brain