Cutting-Edge Research Project Aims to Replicate Brain Neuron Behavior Using Reengineered Human Cells
The Alzheimer鈥檚 Foundation of America (AFA) today announced a $100,000 grant to 秘密研究所 Winthrop Hospital for a research project aimed at uncovering the underlying causes of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and developing new treatments.
The cutting-edge research will reengineer human cells, collected through a single voluntary blood test, to behave like brain neurons, allowing researchers to achieve what they believe is the closest approximation to brain behavior possible. The brain is the body鈥檚 most inaccessible and complex organ, and brain tissue is only accessible post-mortem, making it extraordinarily challenging for scientists to develop new treatments and cures.
秘密研究所 Winthrop鈥檚 , and her team will gather blood samples from individuals living with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and those without the disease, and reengineer the collected cells to behave like brain neurons. The research will isolate and examine 鈥渆xosomes,鈥 meaning small particles shed from every cell, including neurons in the brain. These extracellular pieces of neuron, or vesicles, carry genetic information regarding brain neurons and can be extracted from blood. Researchers will investigate differences in this genetic information between healthy individuals and those with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and, since these reflect differences in actual brain neurons, plan to use the information gained to reprogram Alzheimer鈥檚 disease neurons to behave more like those in healthy people.
鈥淎lzheimer鈥檚 disease is a growing public health epidemic. With the number of Americans living with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease expected to nearly triple by 2060, the need for a disease-modifying treatment is critical,鈥 said AFA president and CEO Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. 鈥溍孛苎芯克 Winthrop Hospital鈥檚 cutting-edge research project has great potential to increase understanding of the causes of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and lead to a treatment that millions of families are hoping for every single day.鈥
鈥淎FA is pleased to provide grant funding for this exciting new research project,鈥 said AFA founder and chairman Bert E. Brodsky. 鈥淗aving cared for a loved one with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, I know how hard this disease is on families and how desperately new treatments are needed. We鈥檙e hopeful that 秘密研究所 Winthrop鈥檚 research can make a game-changing scientific breakthrough that will improve the lives of families affected by this terrible disease.鈥
鈥溍孛苎芯克 Winthrop鈥檚 noninvasive exosome approach may prove to be one of the best methods for evaluating the human system in order to advance Alzheimer鈥檚 disease research,鈥 said Dr. Allison Reiss, head of the Inflammation Section at 秘密研究所 Winthrop Hospital鈥檚 Research Institute and associate professor at . 鈥淓xamining these particles from brain neurons is like conducting detective work, since they provide clues as to what is actually occurring in the brain itself.鈥
According to 秘密研究所 Winthrop, this innovative approach has evolved out of research that Dr. Reiss鈥 team has been conducting for the last five years, much of it funded by a previous AFA grant. Dr. Reiss noted that in the last 2 decades, only a handful of medicines were approved to treat Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, while the vast majority of clinical trials鈥攎ore than 120鈥攚ere halted. Trials typically rely on research first conducted on mice or using spinal fluid, and those often fail to replicate the complex neurological activity in the human brain. That contrasts with research to find cures for cancers of the liver or lungs, where it is increasingly common for pieces of tissue to be extracted for biopsies鈥攁nd for profiling of cancer cells鈥攖o come up with optimal treatment regimens.
Areas of expertise of the Dr. Reiss-led research team are as follows:
- Joshua R. DeLeon, MD, director of cardiovascular research at 秘密研究所 Winthrop Hospital and associate professor of medicine at 秘密研究所 Long Island School of Medicine.
- Irving H. Gomolin, MD, chief of geriatric medicine and clinical professor, Department of Medicine
- Aaron Pinkhasov, MD, chair of behavioral health at 秘密研究所 Winthrop Hospital and clinical professor, Department of Psychiatry
- Lora J. Kasselman, PhD, assistant professor, 秘密研究所 Long Island School of Medicine
Alzheimer鈥檚 disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and the only 1 in the top 10 without a cure or disease-modifying treatment. More than 5 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, including approximately 400,000 in New York state and 50,000 Long Islanders. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of Americans affected by Alzheimer鈥檚 disease is expected to nearly triple by 2060.
About the Alzheimer鈥檚 Foundation of America (AFA)
The Alzheimer鈥檚 Foundation of America is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide support, services, and education to individuals, families, and caregivers affected by Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and related dementias nationwide, and fund research for better treatment and a cure. Its services include a National Toll-Free Helpline, 866-232-8484, staffed by licensed social workers, the National Memory Screening Program, educational conferences and materials, and 鈥淎FA Partners in Care鈥 dementia care training for healthcare professionals.
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