Alzheimer’s news that isn’t bad

It turns out human brains can generate new neurons well into old age, according to a new study, and that could provide some welcome new clues for researchers in the failure-wracked field of Alzheimer’s disease.

As STAT’s Sharon Begley explains, the latest research contradicts an alarming study, published last year, that concluded humans’ capacity for forming new neurons fell off a cliff after the first year of life. Furthermore, the new study found that people who don’t have dementia have considerably higher rates of neurogenesis than those who have Alzheimer’s, an idea that might inform new avenues for treating the disease.

“If you can increase the rate of neurogenesis, it might be protective,” said María Llorens-Martín a neurobiologist at Spain’s Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

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