Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia, affecting around 1 in 10 people over the age of 65. Symptoms like memory loss result from the gradual breakdown of connections between brain cells – but we do not fully understand how and why this happens. Our research aims to create a model of the human brain in a dish to uncover what goes wrong in Alzheimer’s disease and identify new drug targets.
Impact
As people live longer, age-related diseases like Alzheimer’s disease are becoming more common. By 2050, the number of cases is expected to double, placing increasing pressure on families, caregivers, and healthcare systems. While current treatments can temporarily ease symptoms, we urgently need better treatments that can slow or stop the disease in its early stages.
reNEW research
We use human pluripotent stem cells to generate three types of brain cells and combine them to create a simplified model of the human brain that captures the connections and interactions between cells. Our ongoing research focuses on adding features like aging and inflammation to make the model more closely resemble what happens in Alzheimer’s disease.
Image description
Three types of brain cells generated from human pluripotent stem cells:
- Neurons (green) – the brain’s messengers, sending electrochemical signals to control everything from thoughts to movement.
- Astrocytes (magenta) – the brain’s support cells, helping neurons stay healthy and function properly.
- Microglia (orange) – the brain’s immune cells, keeping the brain clean and responding to injury and inflammation.
Credits
Josefine Rågård Christiansen, PhD Student, Nina Lydia Kazakou, Postdoc Kirkeby Lab, reNEW Copenhagen.
