The Two Phases of Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive condition characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β aggregates in the brain. Initially, symptoms are minor or non-existent, but over time a feedback loop between tau protein aggregation and chronic inflammation accelerates pathology and loss of function. Researchers have used omics technologies to map postmortem diseased brains, supporting this two-phase model of Alzheimer’s disease development. This provides a more detailed understanding of the disease progression.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia in older adults. Using multiomics and spatial genomics, researchers studied cell types in the middle temporal gyrus of 84 donors with varying AD pathologies. The analysis revealed two distinct phases of the disease: an early phase with gradual pathology increase and presence of inflammatory cells, and a later phase with exponential pathology growth and loss of specific neuron subtypes. These findings were consistent with other major AD studies.
