RPI scientists to research Alzheimer’s treatment

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers will start working on a new approach to treating and preventing genetic diseases like Alzheimer’s. They received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to fund this research.

“A delivery mechanism that works within the body itself could be a game changer,” said William Lawler, a doctoral student at RPI, who is working on the project.

These researchers will search for ways to get around the immune system’s ability to destroy the gene therapy if it sees the new technology as a threat. They will also attempt to use systems in the human body to their advantage, like our own intercellular mail delivery system, to try and treat these genetic diseases.

“Currently, gene editing tools, such as CRISPR, can only treat cells that have been removed from the body and processed in the lab. That limits the kinds of cells and conditions that can be treated,” Lawler said. “Our goal is to develop a technology that, once in the body, will correct the genetic mutations in brain cells linked to Alzheimer’s disease.”