The origin of the most prevalent form of Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for 95% of cases, is still not clear despite decades of scientific studies. “Before understanding the pathology, we need to understand the biology”, explains Montse Soler López, scientist leading research on Alzheimer’s disease at the ESRF. “The only thing we are sure about is that the most common form of Alzheimer’s is linked with ageing”, she asserts.
So researchers have been focusing on parts of the body that degrade dramatically with age. Neurons, for example, are long-lived cells, meaning that they don’t renew themselves like other cells do. Neurons lodge mitochondria, which are so-called the “powerhouse of cell” because of their active role generating energy in the body. With time, mitochondria suffer oxidative stress and this leads to their malfunction. It has been recently discovered that people with Alzheimer’s may have an accumulation of amyloids inside mitochondria (previously it was thought amyloids were only outside the neurons). Montse Soler López is trying to find whether there is a link between mitochondrial dysfunction, presence of amyloids and early disease symptoms. “We believe that malfunctioning of the mitochondria can take place 20 years before the person shows symptoms of the disease”.
Read more on the ESRF website