Investigating patterns of degeneration in Alzheimer's disease

(Brigham and Women's Hospital) Alzheimer's disease (AD) is known to cause memory loss and cognitive decline, but other functions of the brain can remain intact. The reasons cells in some brain regions degenerate while others are protected is largely unknown. In a paper to be published in Stem Cell Reports, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital have found that factors encoded in the DNA of brain cells contribute to the patterns of degeneration, or vulnerability, in AD.