Discovery Changes Focus on Possible Cause of Alzheimer’s

Research conducted at the Medical Center could open a new frontier when it comes to understanding Alzheimer’s disease.

New findings from a group led by Maiken Nedergaard, professor of neurosurgery and a member of the Center for Aging and Developmental Biology, and postdoctoral associate Takahiro Takano, show that star-shaped brain cells known as astrocytes play a direct role in controlling blood flow, allowing parts of the brain to burst into activity when needed.

Alzheimer’s has long been considered a disease of neurons, not astrocytes. Nedergaard said the new results muddy the picture, calling into question any straightforward link between the health of neurons and blood flow.

“When we measure blood flow,” says Nedergaard, “it may be that we are not measuring the activity of neurons so much as that of astrocytes.”