Now That We Know How Alzheimer's Might Spread Through the Brain, Will We Learn to Stop It?

Now That We Know How Alzheimer’s Might Spread Through the Brain, Will We Learn to Stop It? Two independent studies — one out of Harvard, the other from Columbia — might have answered the biggest question of all in Alzheimer’s research: how does the disease spread through the brain? As it turns out, the answer is: like a virus. The tangled, unnatural proteins so characteristic of Alzheimer’s seem to literally spread from cell to cell, starting in one small area of the brain and going from there. The research is the first of its kind, and there’s a long road ahead, but still — knowing how something spreads is half the battle when it comes to building a roadblock. [New York Times]