New Discoveries, New Insights

During the past 2 years, scientists supported by NIH have made advances in a number of areas important to AD. This section of the Progress Report focuses on recent research that has attempted to answer three key questions:

• What happens in the brain to cause the transformation from healthy aging to AD?
• Can certain factors protect against or increase the risk of AD?
• What can be done to slow the progression of AD or lessen its effects?

These questions are important because they focus on the central issues of AD: What occurs during the very first steps of the disease process, what might we do to prevent AD, and what can be done once the disease process has started? They can be asked only because of the knowledge that has accumulated through past research. Answers to these questions are emerging, and they hold the key to future prevention, treatment, and caregiving strategies.

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