Summary: Boosting mitochondria may defend against a form of protein stress that can reduce the formation of amyloid plaques, EPFL researchers report.

Source: EPFL.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia and neurodegeneration worldwide. A major hallmark of the disease is the accumulation of toxic plaques in the brain, formed by the abnormal aggregation of a protein called beta-amyloid inside neurons.

Still without cure, Alzheimer’s poses a significant burden on public health systems. Most treatments focus on reducing the formation of amyloid plaques, but these approaches have been inconclusive. As a result, scientists are now searching for alternative treatment strategies, one of which is to consider Alzheimer’s as a metabolic disease.

Taking this line of thought, Johan Auwerx’s lab at EPFL looked at mitochondria, which are the energy-producing powerhouses of cells, and thus central in metabolism. Using worms and mice as models, they…