Novel culture system replicates course of Alzheimer's disease, confirms amyloid hypothesis

(Massachusetts General Hospital) An innovative laboratory culture system has succeeded, for the first time, in reproducing the full course of events underlying the development of Alzheimer's disease. Using this system, Massachusetts General Hospital investigators provide the first clear evidence supporting the hypothesis that deposition of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain is the first step in a cascade leading to the devastating neurodegenerative disease.