Brain Map from International Consortium: The Hidden Link Between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Resolved
In a massive study led by the US National Institutes of Health, more than 6.3 million cells were scanned and a map of the prefrontal cortex was created.
Quick Look
An international study led by the PsychAD Consortium and Mount Sinai revealed the genetic link between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's by creating a cellular map of the prefrontal cortex.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Researchers led by the PsychAD Consortium and Mount Sinai produced the first comprehensive map of the prefrontal cortex by examining the brain tissue of 1,500 donors.
A massive international consortium study that is groundbreaking in the world of neurology, genetics and artificial intelligence has been completed. The research, led by the PsychAD Consortium funded by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, mapped the "prefrontal cortex" region, the management center of the human brain.
In the study, published in 8 separate articles in Nature, the most respected scientific publication of the medical world, as well as Nature Medicine and Nature Communications, a genetic database was created by scanning more than 6.3 million single cells taken from the brains of nearly 1,500 donors.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFETIME: THE SECOND MAJOR TRANSFORMATION AT AGE 65
When the brain development of healthy individuals was examined, it was proven that the prefrontal cortex goes through three main stages throughout human life. Following the rapid cellular structuring in early childhood, the period of stability in adulthood begins from the age of 24.
One of the most striking findings in the research was that the brain entered a second cellular restructuring process around the age of 65. It has been documented that gene activations governing immune responses, biological clock (circadian rhythm) and stress mechanisms change radically during this age stage.
THE HIDDEN GENETIC LINK BETWEEN ALZHEIMER AND PARKINSON HAS BEEN FOUND
Researchers; They compared tissues from individuals with eight major brain disorders, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, with neurotypical brains.
When all cells are examined together, there is no direct partnership between Alzheimer's and Parkinson's; When analyzed specifically for "microglia", the resident immune cells of the brain, 47 common genetic pathways that were mutated in both diseases were detected. This confirmed that different neurological diseases are fueled by the same immune damage.
PERSONALIZED "PRECISION MEDICINE" ERA WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT
In the study, where artificial intelligence models were activated, the specific molecular routes behind behavioral symptoms such as depression, agitation and aggression seen in Alzheimer's patients were mapped one by one.
Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Disease Neurogenomics, Dr. Panos Roussos stated that the huge database obtained was opened to the public and all scientists free of charge. Experts declare that the era of personalized "precision medicine" and pinpoint drug treatments in neurological diseases has officially begun, thanks to single cell RNA sequencing.
Open Questions
- How will shared genetic pathways accelerate new drug development?
- What exactly triggers cellular changes at age 65?
