Boosting one brain protein restored memory in mice with Alzheimer's — and calmed the brain's rhythms

Deep in the brain, a class of cells acts like a relay team, firing in precise sequence to keep our mental rhythms — and memories — in time. In Alzheimer's, that sequence collapses. Gladstone Institutes researchers found the relay depends on a protein called Nav1.1, which is reduced in both mice and people with the disease. Engineering mice to make more of it restored normal rhythms, cut epileptic activity and amyloid plaques, and improved memory and lifespan — in mice, with human treatments still to be developed. 'We discovered a way to reset their timing when Alzheimer's-related processes throw them off beat,' says senior author Jorge Palop. His team is now hunting for a drug that can do the same job.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation