Microscopy demystifies metabolism of Alzheimer’s
Researchers at UC San Diego have deployed state-of-the art imaging techniques to discover the metabolism driving Alzheimer’s disease; results suggest new treatment strategies. Using their own state-of-the art imaging technologies, scientists at the University of California San Diego have now revealed how the metabolism of lipids, a class of molecule that includes fats, oils and many hormones, is changed in Alzheimer’s disease. They also revealed a new strategy to target this metabolic system with new and existing drugs. The findings are published in Cell Metabolism. The researchers discovered that in brains with tauopathy, neurons accumulate excess lipids as a result of stress or damage. This influx forces neurons to offload the excess to immune cells in the brain, called microglia. These microglia then mount an inflammatory response that causes further stress to neurons, triggering a repeating and worsening cycle. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1550413124001189?via%3Dihub

