↘ Mind Games : Tangles of tau protein are a hallmark of Alzheimer ' s disease and speed the destruction and death of neurons . Clockwise from top right : A colorized scanning electron micrograph of nerve cells showing synapses ( junctions and bulges ) between them . A closer look at the tangles ( green ) within a single cell .
Images courtesy of Thomas Deerick , National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research , UC San Diego
↑ Collaborative Efforts : Dr . Howard Feldman is director of the Alzheimer ' s Disease Cooperative Study ( ADCS ) at UC San Diego , which also includes the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer ' s Disease Research Center ( ADRC ) and the Brain Health and Memory Disorders Clinic . other institutions . We won ’ t stop until we , in collaboration with others , can claim true and complete success .”
In January 2022 , UC San Diego and the University of Southern California ( USC ) announced a $ 50 million gift from the Epstein Family Foundation to expand and accelerate development of effective treatments for AD , and perhaps find a cure or preventive . The gift was inspired , in part , by Daniel Epstein ’ s identical twin brother , who had suffered from AD for 15 years and died due to related complications . Epstein , a USC alumnus , and his wife , Phyllis , are longtime philanthropic supporters of both universities . The Epsteins believe the two universities can combine resources and expertise to achieve exponential results . her
“ When researchers are interacting and sharing ideas , it can lead to new solutions that they might not have originally thought about ,” says Daniel Epstein . “ When two stellar universities are working together to achieve the same goal , great things will come out of it .”
USC will focus its funding on support for improved neuroimaging , informatics and clinical trials . And at UC San Diego , the gift will help to advance the potential of gene therapy as either a treatment or preventive for AD and investigate existing or repurposed drugs and natural products that might treat AD .
Mending Genes Gene therapy is not a new concept . It dates back to the 1960s . The basic idea involves transplanting normal genes into cells to replace missing or defective ones to correct genetic disorders . It is being tested for a wide range of diseases , including cancer , cystic fibrosis , heart disease , diabetes , hemophilia , AIDS and some neurological conditions . It holds the potential to be curative .
The Alzheimer ' s gene therapy program at USC and UC San Diego will look at treating families with mutations in genes coding for proteins linked to a higher risk of AD , such as over-production of plaques in the brain that initiate a
30 TRITON | SPRING 2022