A coronal cross-section of a mouse brain is stained blue. The entire outer edge and occasional points further inside are speckled with yellow-green dots. The background behind the brain is black.

How sensory gamma rhythm stimulation clears amyloid in Alzheimer’s mice

Stimulating a key brain rhythm with light and sound increases peptide release from interneurons, driving clearance of Alzheimer’s protein via the brain’s glymphatic system, new study suggests. Studies at MIT and elsewhere are producing mounting evidence that light flickering and sound clicking at the gamma brain rhythm frequency of 40 Hz can reduce Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression …

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On a navy blue background we see a brain made up of tiny lighter blue dots. A high frequency wave form emanates from both sides of the brain.

Evidence early, but emerging, that gamma rhythm stimulation can treat neurological disorders

A new review surveys a broadening landscape of studies showing what’s known, and what remains to be found, about the therapeutic potential of non-invasive sensory, electrical or magnetic stimulation of gamma brain rhythms. A surprising MIT study published in Nature at the end of 2016 helped to spur interest in the possibility that light flickering at the frequency of …

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A 4x2 set of eight panels show highly colorful tissues. The bottom row is labeled siRNA while the top is a "scrambled' control. The various colored stains for inflammatory proteins are brighter in the top row than the bottom row.

Nanoparticle-delivered RNA reduces neuroinflammation in lab tests

In mice and human cell cultures, MIT researchers showed that  novel nanoparticles can deliver a potential therapy for inflammation in the brain, a prominent symptom in Alzheimer’s disease Some Covid-19 vaccines safely and effectively used lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) to deliver messenger RNA to cells. A new MIT study shows that different nanoparticles could be used for a …

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A mouse hippocampus is colorfully stained with the swooping dentate gyrus in blue. Alll around it are little bright green microglia.

How a mutation in microglia elevates Alzheimer’s risk

A new MIT study finds that microglia with mutant TREM2 protein reduce brain circuit connections, promote inflammation and contribute to Alzheimer’s pathology in other ways A rare but potent genetic mutation that alters a protein in the brain’s immune cells, known as microglia, can give people as much as a three-fold greater risk of developing …

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A pink cartoon brain is superposed over a background of DNA double-helixes. Toward the right side of the image, the brain is crumbling to dust.

Decoding the complexity of Alzheimer’s disease

By analyzing epigenomic and gene expression changes that occur in Alzheimer’s disease, researchers identify cellular pathways that could become new drug targets Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 6 million people in the United States, and there are very few FDA-approved treatments that can slow the progression of the disease. In hopes of discovering new targets …

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A square panel shows tall yellow streaks. At the very bottom is a black field with a few blue dots. Almost across the top there is a strip of many blue dots.

Molecule reduces inflammation in Alzheimer’s models

A potential new Alzheimer’s drug represses the harmful inflammatory response of the brain’s immune cells, reducing disease pathology, preserving neurons and improving cognition in preclinical tests Though drug developers have achieved some progress in treating Alzheimer’s disease with medicines that reduce amyloid-beta protein, other problems of the disease including inflammation, continue unchecked. In a new …

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Two panels show sections of mouse brain tissue with a dull magenta glow. In the panel on the left many cells are lit up brightly in magenta. In the panel on the right, only one cell is lit up brightly.

40 Hz vibrations reduce Alzheimer’s pathology, symptoms in mouse models

Tactile stimulation improved motor performance, reduced phosphorylated tau, preserved neurons and synapses and reduced DNA damage, a new study shows Evidence that non-invasive sensory stimulation of 40 Hz gamma frequency brain rhythms can reduce Alzheimer’s disease pathology and symptoms, already shown with light and sound by multiple research groups in mice and humans, now extends …

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Four panels in a 2x2 array. The top left shows a lot of purple staining of cells. The top right shows much less purple. The bottom row shows two nearly idential stripes of blue with lots of blue spots above and below.

A new peptide may hold potential as an Alzheimer’s treatment

The peptide blocks a hyperactive brain enzyme that contributes to the neurodegeneration seen in Alzheimer’s and other diseases MIT neuroscientists have found a way to reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease by interfering with an enzyme that is typically overactive in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. When the researchers treated mice with a …

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New technologies revealing cross-cutting breakdowns in Alzheimer’s disease

‘Single-cell profiling’ is helping neuroscientists see how disease affects major brain cell types and identify common, potentially targetable pathways After decades of fundamental scientific and drug discovery research, Alzheimer’s disease has remained inscrutable and incurable, with a bare minimum of therapeutic progress. But in a new review article in Nature Neuroscience, MIT scientists write that by employing …

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