Visualizing the Culprit Behind Alzheimer's: A Breakthrough Approach.
South Korean researchers have discovered that reactive astrocytes, rather than amyloid-beta plaques, may be the main cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The team developed a new imaging technique using PET scans with radioactive acetate and glucose probes to visualize the interaction between astrocytes and neurons in Alzheimer’s patients. This breakthrough could lead to a new method for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and identify MCT1, an astrocyte-specific acetate transport, as a potential therapeutic target.