By unraveling the complexities of the brain and nervous system, we can create novel therapies.

What if you couldn’t carry on a conversation, remember the day of the week or recognize the face of your adult child? For people with Alzheimer’s disease, these are very real concerns. Alzheimer’s, the most common cause of dementia among people aged 65 or older, often leads to severe problems in thought, memory and behavior. Although damaging clumps of proteins in neurons called amyloid plaques are a hallmark of the disease, the deep complexities of the illness mean that no medicines currently exist to slow its progression. At Scripps Research, our strategy is to dig beyond the symptoms of Alzheimer’s to decipher its molecular origins. Our goal: to identify biological targets for effective therapies.

With the latest understanding of cellular machinery, for example, our researchers are pioneering creative ways to model Alzheimer’s disease in the lab. Currently, they are developing approaches that could actually regenerate healthy brain cells for potential use in patients. In support of this breakthrough work, teams of chemists here are using newly identified molecules to prevent the aggregation of dangerous protein plaques.

This is a challenging project, but every day, scientists at Scripps Research are adding new layers of information to our understanding of Alzheimer’s. By combining fundamental biomedical research with computational tools and clinical sampling, we are dedicating our efforts to the early detection and reversal of this and other neurodegenerative diseases, thus allowing the ones we care about to live long lives with healthy minds.