Alzheimer’s disease is a brain condition that slowly damages memory, thinking, and daily functioning. It happens when abnormal proteins build up in the brain, forming sticky clumps called plaques and tangled fibers known as tangles. These changes disrupt the brain’s nerve cells, causing them to die over time. This leads to memory loss, confusion, and difficulty performing everyday tasks. As the disease gets worse, people may need full-time care.
Current treatments can slow symptoms in the early stages but cannot restore lost brain function. Most research focuses on preventing Alzheimer’s before symptoms appear, but most people are diagnosed after the disease is already advanced, when these treatments offer little help.
Our team is exploring new ways to help the brain heal by encouraging the growth of new nerve cells—a process called neurogenesis. We have discovered a gene that may drive the loss of new nerve cell production. By targeting this gene with repurposed drugs or gene therapy, we have stimulated stem cells in the brain to produce new nerve cells and improved memory in older mice, offering hope for older adults with mild memory and thinking loss.
Ongoing research focuses on understanding how this gene affects stem cell function and whether targeting it can promote brain cell regeneration. If successful, this could be a major breakthrough toward helping people with advanced Alzheimer’s regain some brain function and improve their quality of life, offering new hope beyond current early-stage treatments.
