Alzheimer’s: Cellular Differences May Explain Cognitive Resilience 

Alzheimer's: Cellular Differences May Explain Cognitive Resilience. Credit | Alamy
Alzheimer's: Cellular Differences May Explain Cognitive Resilience. Credit | Alamy

United States: According to the new research, specific cellular and circuit vulnerabilities may prevent a few individuals from cognitive decline despite having a clear disease pathology. 

More about the study 

For the study purposes, researchers have used a new method to compare gene expression across several brain regions in individuals with and without Alzheimer’s, as medicalnewstoday.com reported. 

Although, as per the experts, brain cells share the same DNA, their identity and activity differ based on gene expression patterns. 

How was the study conducted? 

The researchers analyzed gene expression in over 1.3 million cells from more than 70 cell types across six brain regions in 48 tissue donors, 26 of whom had Alzheimer’s disease and 22 did not. 

Alzheimer's: Cellular Differences May Explain Cognitive Resilience. Credit | Getty Images
Alzheimer’s: Cellular Differences May Explain Cognitive Resilience. Credit | Getty Images

As per the Co-senior author, Li-Huei Tsai, Picower professor of neuroscience and director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and the Aging Brain Initiative at MIT, the study “identified pathways related to cell vulnerability and cognitive resilience.” 

He explained further, “These findings provide new targets for therapeutic intervention,” as medicalnewstoday.com reported. 

Links that cellular changes have with cognitive decline 

The scientists went through the brain samples from various brain organs, in which they noted thousands of subtle yet essential biological changes in terms of cells or genes in response to Alzheimer’s pathology. 

Moreover, by linking the gathered information to the cognitive state of patients, they can get how cellular reactions could be correlated to cognitive decline or resilience, potentially suggesting new treatments for cognitive loss, as medicalnewstoday.com reported. 

As the pathology could be preceded by cognitive symptoms even by a decade or more, protecting the cellular pathways that support cognitive function might be possible. 

According to David Merrill, MD, PhD, a geriatric psychiatrist and director of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute’s Pacific Brain Health Center at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not part of the study said, “this study identifies 76 brain-region-specific cell types revealing the cellular vulnerability, response, and resilience to Alzheimer’s disease.” 

He added, “This work paves the way for early detection and targeted therapeutic interventions — the long-promised promise of precision medicine approaches,” as medicalnewstoday.com reported.