Scientists replicate Alzheimer’s brain cells in a petri dish

Scientists were recently able to develop “Alzheimer’s-in-dish” for the first time ever with the help of an innovative laboratory culture system.

Scientists Doo Yeon Kim, an investigator in the Genetics and Aging Research Unit, and Rudolph Tanzi, director of the unit, cultured brain cells salted with Alzheimer’s genes in a gelatinous environment that allowed the cells to develop the beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that characterize the disease.

“In this new system that we call ‘Alzheimer’s-in-a-dish,’ we’ve been able to show for the first time that amyloid deposition is sufficient to lead to tangles and subsequent cell death,” Tanzi said in a press release. “This new system — which can be adapted to other neurodegenerative disorders — should revolutionize drug discovery in terms of speed, costs and physiologic relevance to disease.”

Agencies/Canadajournal