Print FriendlyAlzheimer's and Aging
The Salk Institute has a powerful cadre of world-class researchers who focus on understanding the brain and the aging process. They are committed to discovering the fundamental causes of neurodegenerative diseases, ranging from Alzheimer's disease to Parkinson's disease.
Recent Discoveries
- Salk researchers observed for the first time that stem cells exist in the adult brain, which overturns a long-held view that we are born with a certain number of brain cells that decrease in number as we age. Institute researchers have also shown that brain activity stimulates stem cells to turn into functioning neurons, suggesting that the old adage of "use it or lose it" may apply to brain function and the aging process.
- Sydney Brenner, a senior distinguished fellow in the Crick-Jacobs Center, shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Medicine for selecting the worm C. elegans as a model system for studying human physiology. Brenner's discoveries provided invaluable insights into our understanding of cancer, strokes, and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
- A new group of Salk researchers is building upon Sydney Brenner's groundbreaking work, using the tiny worm C. elegans to find out what determines longevity. By studying the progressive degenerative changes that occur in the worm as it ages-and learning how to prolong its lifespan-they are opening a window on how to prevent the downsides of human aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
- Researchers in the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory are working to understand the cellular mechanisms that contribute to Alzheimer's disease, as well as on developing drugs that block the nerve cell death associated with Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases.
Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), researchers are determining the three-dimensional structure of proteins and other biological molecules. Learning the 3-D structures of biomolecules with this powerful technique can help scientists learn more about how biological processes work as well as help researchers develop better drugs to treat disease. Proteins involved in Alzheimer's disease are particularly well suited to NMR study because they undergo a conformational change, forming long filamented sheets called beta-amyloid plaques.
Learn more about related Salk faculty research
Andrew Dillin
Kuo-Fen Lee
Fred Gage
Inder Verma
Steve Heinemann
Dave Schubert
Jan Karlseder