I just read a fascinating article in Scientific American that poses a fundamental question about Alzheimer's disease: Do the plaques found in every brain affected by Alzheimer's cause the disease, or do they result from it?

Researchers - including Bradley Hyman, Director of the Alzheimer's Unit at Massachusetts General's Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease - recently used new visualization technology to view plaques forming in the brains of mice genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's. They made two important observations:

• Plaques appeared to form before other changes occurred that characterize Alzheimer's, suggesting the plaques may cause the disease rather than result from it;
  
• Plaques accumulated rapidly, sometimes becoming disruptive enough to affect nerve cell function and spark inflammation within 48 hours.

The key to good research is asking the right question. The researchers in this study did just that, because figuring out "what comes first" could lead to interventions to block that first event from happening at all.

Suggested Reading:
What Causes Alzheimer's Disease?
Alzheimer's Prevention: Healthy Brain Plan

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