Subtracting Gravity from Alzheimer's

NASA | MARCH 12, 2015

Researchers working with astronauts on the International Space Station are embarking on a mission to discover the origin of Alzheimer’s.

Among medical researchers, Alzheimer’s is a top priority. Image credit: NASA

Researchers believe that Alzheimer’s and similar diseases advance when certain proteins in the brain assemble themselves into long fibers that accumulate and ultimately strangle nerve cells in the brain.

These fibers take decades to form and accumulate—hence the link between Alzheimer's and aging. In laboratories on Earth, researchers have figured out how to make protein fibers accumulate more quickly, so they can study the process without waiting so long.

On the space station, accumulated fibers do not collapse under their own weight, which makes the station an even better place to study them.

However, observations from this experiment alone won’t lead directly to the discovery of a cure. The experiment is geared more towards understanding the way that Alzheimer’s progresses, not towards creating a pill to stop it from happening.

Eventually, this experiment could lead to the discovery of a method to slow down the rate at which the harmful fibers grow, thereby opening a window for a cure.

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