Study aims to identify at-risk individuals before onset of Alzheimer’s disease

New treatments for Alzheimer’s disease show promise when applied during early stages of disease progression, but they require identifying at-risk individuals. Furthermore, improved therapeutics require knowing which areas of the brain to target and how to recognize disease-related changes in those regions. That begs the question, where in the brain do you look?

While the vast majority of Alzheimer’s disease research focuses on the hippocampus and related circuits, the earliest disease-related changes might first occur outside of those brain regions.

“Our research aims to identify some of the earliest changes in the Alzheimer’s disease brain that would be used to identify at-risk individuals before the onset of disease,” says Kevin Beier, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics in UC Irvine’s School of Medicine. “Furthermore, we hope to detail drivers of Alzheimer’s disease that could be used to reveal new druggable targets to slow the spread of disease.”

With three-year funding through an award from the Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant Program, Beier and his team aim to study the role of the retrosplenial cortex as an early driver of Alzheimer’s disease. “The retrosplenial cortex is not currently a target for Alzheimer’s disease research; we plan to show that it is a very important contributor to the early development and acceleration of disease,” says Beier. “Importantly, this includes populations that have been excluded from current therapies, including the monoclonal antibody therapeutics.”

The team plans to focus on the Down syndrome population, assessing whether the retrosplenial cortex may be a biomarker and target for treatment.

If the researchers can identify brain connections that show dysfunction early in disease, they will gain an understanding of what gives rise to Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis. They can then explore specific cell types and molecular targets for drug development.