- Our Story - In Memory The Search for New Ways to Treat
Alzheimer's Disease By John R. Cirrito, Ph.D., and David M.
Holtzman, M.D. Microdialysis Core Facility, Department of
Neurology, Hope Center for Neurological Diseases, Washington
University, St. Louis, MO A major contributing factor in
Alzheimer’s disease is the elevation of a protein called
amyloid-β, or Aβ. Since high levels of Aβ play a role in the
disease, many research groups around the world are developing
therapies designed to lower the levels of this protein. With the
help of Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, our group initiated an ambitious
project to discover new drugs that reduce Aβ levels. Our
approach is to test drugs in living animals (mice). While this
process is time-consuming, it enables us to discover entirely
new classes of compounds that traditional drug screening methods
typically might overlook. In Alzheimer’s disease, Aβ accumulates
as amyloid plaques in the space between nerve cells. Several
years ago, our group developed a technique called