Several neurological conditions are linked with abnormal protein tangles in brain cells
Gorodenkoff/iStock/Getty Images Plus
It might be possible to treat a range of neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, with a one-time gene therapy that makes brain cells produce antibodies. Tests on human “mini-brains” growing in a dish show that these antibodies can reduce levels inside brain cells of the tau protein associated with these diseases.
“We’re looking at hopefully a ‘one and done’ approach,” says David Butler at the Neural Stem Cell Institute, a non-profit organisation in New York state.
