Neuron Savers: Gene therapy slows Alzheimer’s disease

Putting extra copies of the gene for a cellular growth factor into the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease slows the degenerative condition, a new study suggests.

DELICATE WORK. Physicians inject skin cells carrying a brain-boosting gene into the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient. The procedure could delay some effects of the disease. UCSD

Alzheimer’s disease kills neurons, the brain cells that orchestrate message signaling throughout the nervous system.