In the search for medication against Alzheimer’s disease,
scientists have focused – among other factors – on drugs that can break down
Amyloid beta (A-beta). After all, it is the accumulation of A-beta that causes
the known plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Starting point for the
formation of A-beta is APP. Alessia Soldano and Bassem Hassan (VIB/KU Leuven)
were the first to unravel the function of APPL – the fruit-fly version of APP –
in the brain of healthy fruit flies.