Vessel movies in Stall Catchers are generated from state-of-the-art two and three-photon microscope images
Stalls have been shown to occur in up to 2% of capillaries in AD-affected mice, resulting in 30% downstream reduction in brain blood flow – exactly the reduction observed in humans.
Stalls could also be linked to ~30% reduced blood flow in the brain in AD patients
Reversing stalls reduces AD symptoms in mice, including memory loss and mood changes
One the ways stalls could drive AD is by reducing clearance of amyloid beta protein (Aβ) leading to accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid plaques
Understanding the molecular mechanisms that drive stalls will help identify drugs that prevent or disrupt them without harming the organism
Stall Catchers helps us look for the reasons behind stalls in the brains of mice, and test drugs that could prevent AD and/or reduce disease symptoms, at a much faster rate than in the lab
Through Stall Catchers, we can test drugs that are already being used to treat other diseases, some of which could effectively reduce stalls, potentially enabling off-label use to treat Alzheimer’s
With the help of citizen scientists, we could reduce the time to discover Alzheimer’s treatment targets from decades to just a few years
