Scientists Target Seeds of Alzheimer's Disease

Scientists in Japan said they might have discovered a method to stop Alzheimer's disease before it starts by dissolving tiny protein clusters that trigger the condition.

The study focused on the early tau protein formations that appear before the well-known toxic fibrils responsible for damaging cognitive function.

Researchers at Tokyo Metropolitan University, led by Professor Rei Kurita, identified soft microscopic "precursors" measuring only tens of nanometers using advanced X-ray and fluorescence techniques.

Because these early clusters were soft and pliable, the team was able to dissolve them in laboratory tests. Once dissolved, the harmful tau fibrils never formed, suggesting a potential new pathway for blocking the disease at its earliest stage.

The results could usher in a major shift in treatment strategy, focusing on preventing fibrils from forming rather than trying to break them apart once they appear.

Scientists say similar approaches could eventually help in the study of other neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease.

The study had some limitations, however, as the work was conducted only in controlled biochemical models, not in animals or humans.

Researchers still don't know whether such reversible clusters exist in human brain tissue or whether dissolving them would be safe.

Courtney Kloske, Ph.D., director of scientific engagement for the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago, told Fox News Digital that the research was "promising," but remains in its earliest phase.

Kloske said the work "may turn out to deepen our understanding" of how Alzheimer's develops but stressed that much more research is needed to determine if it can be applied to real-world treatments.

Alzheimer's research has grabbed headlines this year, with a new test for the neurodegenerative condition gaining approval by the Food and Drug Administration as well as studies exploring the disease process.

Scientists this year successfully reversed Alzheimer's in mice in a groundbreaking study that focused on restoring the healthy function of the brain's natural defense system, known as the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

Researchers involved in that study found that they could repair the BBB by injecting nanoparticles into the brain, which then allowed it to regain its ability to clear the harmful amyloid plaque structures characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.

Giuseppe Battaglia, one of the researchers involved from the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies, said restoring the brain's defense system could lead to "fewer day-to-day declines, longer periods of independence and better responses to existing medications for families, which could translate into more meaningful time together and a reduced caregiving burden."

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