Alzheimer’s could be ‘REVERSED’ as breakthrough paves the way for new treatment that offers hope to millions

SCIENTISTS investigating Alzheimer's disease have made a key breakthrough, identifying a key cellular process that drives most common cause of dementia.

American researchers say it marks a "promising" target for drug treatments aiming to slow, or even reverse, the disease's development.

A team from the Advanced Science Research Center at The City University of New York (CUNY ASRC) discovered the critical mechanism that links cellular stress in the brain to the progression of Alzheimer's.

The study, published in the journal Neuron, says the brain's primary immune cells - called microglia - play a key role in protecting the brain from the disease.

Microglia are often dubbed the brain's "first responders", but scientists say these same cells can play a double-edged role.

Some protect brain health, while others worsen neurodegeneration, spurring on Alzheimer's.

Understanding the differences between these cells has been a research focus for Professor Pinar Ayata, the study's principal investigator.

Prof Ayata said: "We set out to answer what are the harmful microglia in Alzheimer's disease and how can we therapeutically target them.

"We pinpointed a novel neurodegenerative microglia phenotype in Alzheimer's disease characterised by a stress-related signalling pathway."

The research team discovered that activation of this stress pathway, known as the integrated stress response (ISR), causes microglia to produce and release toxic lipids.

These lipids damage neurons and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells - two cell types that are essential for brain function and are most impacted in Alzheimer's disease.

But scientists found that blocking the stress response or the formation of lipids reversed symptoms of Alzheimer's in preclinical models using mice.