Scientists discover why many Alzheimer’s drugs fail, identify one that may work

"Recent studies show that the plaques of amyloid proteins that accumulate between brain cells and the tangles of tau proteins that cluster within brain cells, both considered a signature of Alzheimer’s, also occur in many who have no memory loss—and are absent in 35 to 40 percent of those who, by neuropsychological testing, do. There’s no correlation between the presence of plaques and cognitive function."

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"an earthquake of emerging evidence that cognitive impairment shows itself only after decades of decay in the processes that power our brain cells,"

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"Much research suggests that at its core, Alzheimer’s disease—and garden variety cognitive decline—may be a metabolic disorder, a perturbation in fuel use by the brain, a process that loses efficiency with age and is inherently influenced by what we eat"

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"Her studies of clinically and cognitively normal men and women in their 40s and 50s show that even in middle age, the brain areas and functions most vulnerable to disruption by Alzheimer’s pathology are already being affected by diet, in ways that implicate typical American consumption patterns. Mosconi doesn’t view Alzheimer’s as a disease of old age: “It’s a lifelong process that starts young and reaches a tipping point only after age 50.”"