A dying neuron damaged by tau protein. Tau is involved in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. A new model in nonhuman primates is opening the possibility of testing treatments before extensive brain cell death and dementia set in.
Credit: Danielle Beckman/UC Davis Research in rhesus macaques has demonstrated a critical six-month window for monitoring and testing interventions for Alzheimer’s , focusing on the tau protein implicated in the disease. This study, revealing the progression of tau protein spread and its effects, enhances our understanding of early-stage Alzheimer’s and offers a bridge between rodent models and human clinical findings. Research involving nonhuman primates is paving the way for trials of early-stage treatments for Alzheimer’s and related disorders, prior to significant brain cell loss and dementia.
A study recently published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association indicates a six-month period during which the progression of the disease can be monitored and potential therapies can be evaluated in rhesus macaques. “This is a very powerful translational model to test interventions that target the tau protein,” said John H. Morrison, professor of neurology at the University of California, Davis and California National Primate Research Center and corresponding author on the paper.
The tau protein is found in neurons in the brain. The spread of misfolded tau through the brain is implicated in Alzheimer’s.
