Newswise — Alzheimer’s disease, a debilitating brain disorder with limited treatment options, has long challenged researchers. Specifically, researchers have struggled with slowing the buildup of amyloid beta plaques , harmful clumps of proteins that exacerbate the disease by damaging brain cells and causing memory loss. Led by the John and Marcia Price College of Engineering , University of Utah researchers have developed a groundbreaking approach to tackle these plaques and possibly slow this devastating neurodegenerative disease.
Inspired by targeted cancer treatment methods, their technique utilizes a form of radiation known as alpha particles to break down chemical bonds in amyloid beta plaques. Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT) delivers these particles directly to the harmful plaques on the brain while aiming to minimize damage to healthy tissues. Aidan Bender , a former graduate student in the college’s Utah Nuclear Engineering Program , spearheaded this pioneering research published July 25 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine , the premier journal in the field.
Co-authors included researchers from the Utah's departments of Radiology and Chemistry. “Aidan excelled in research and developed many skills and techniques needed to tackle this study,” said the study’s senior author Tara Mastren , an assistant professor of civil & environmental engineering whose lab focuses on developing medical-grade isotopes . “The research from his publication is the first step in .