{"id":152455,"date":"2026-04-16T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=152455"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T17:36:41","slug":"ucf-study-suggests-some-alzheimers-symptoms-may-begin-outside-the-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/ucf-study-suggests-some-alzheimers-symptoms-may-begin-outside-the-brain\/","title":{"rendered":"麻豆原创 Study Suggests Some Alzheimer\u2019s Symptoms May Begin Outside the Brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

麻豆原创 researchers<\/a>\u00a0have\u00a0uncovered\u00a0evidence\u00a0that some movement-related symptoms\u00a0of\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u00a0may originate outside the brain, which could change how\u00a0the disease\u00a0is diagnosed and treated in the future.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0study was sponsored by the\u00a0National Institutes of Health\u2019s National Institute on Aging\u00a0and\u00a0was led by 麻豆原创 Nanoscience Technology Center\u00a0Professor\u00a0James Hickman\u00a0and\u00a0Research\u00a0Professor\u00a0Xiufang \u201cNadine\u201d Guo. In collaboration with\u00a0researchers at\u00a0healthcare<\/a> tech company Hesperos, the team used\u00a0lab-grown,\u00a0human-cell systems designed to model how the body functions\u00a0to\u00a0examined\u00a0how genetic mutations associated with\u00a0familial\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s\u00a0affects\u00a0movement.\u00a0Today, the\u00a0study was published in\u00a0Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMotor deficits may be an earlier indication\u00a0[of Alzheimer\u2019s],\u201d she\u00a0says. \u201cIf we can detect those changes and intervene earlier, that could help delay the onset of central nervous system symptoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

How\u00a0Movement and Alzheimer\u2019s Are Connected<\/h2>\n

Familial Alzheimer\u2019s is\u00a0a\u00a0rare\u00a0form of the disease that\u00a0is\u00a0hereditary and appears\u00a0earlier\u00a0(from\u00a040 to 65 years of age)\u00a0in people affected than those\u00a0with the typical\u00a0condition.<\/p>\n

While\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s disease is widely\u00a0associated with\u00a0memory loss and dementia,\u00a0clinicians have long\u00a0observed\u00a0that some patients show changes in balance, gait\u00a0(manner of walking)\u00a0or movement years before cognitive symptoms appear. These\u00a0early motor changes\u00a0raise\u00a0questions about whether\u00a0parts of the disease begin\u00a0outside the brain.<\/p>\n

Through a tech-powered approach, the\u00a0team found that the diseased motor neurons\u00a0\u2014\u00a0even without involvement from the brain\u00a0\u2014\u00a0disrupted\u00a0the neuromuscular junction, which is\u00a0central to daily movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time it\u2019s been demonstrated that deficits in the peripheral nervous system can arise directly from these mutations,\u201d Hickman\u00a0says. \u201cIt means drugs that target the brain may not fix problems in the rest of the body.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maintaining\u00a0motor function may also\u00a0support overall\u00a0brain\u00a0health,\u00a0as\u00a0physical activity is known to\u00a0play a role in cognitive well-being, Guo notes.<\/p>\n

How Researchers Build Human Disease Models in the Lab<\/h2>\n

To explore how these mutations affect movement, the researchers turned to a\u00a0cutting-edge\u00a0approach called \u201chuman-on-a-chip\u201d technology, which is manufactured\u00a0through Hesperos, a company co-founded by Hickman.\u00a0These miniature lab systems recreate the way human cells interact and function in the body, allowing scientists to study disease in a more realistic way than traditional lab or animal models.<\/p>\n

The team built a neuromuscular junction-on-a-chip \u2014 a small system that mimics the connection between motor neurons and muscle cells.\u00a0What makes\u00a0this system powerful is\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0left out: the brain and spinal cord. By isolating motor neurons and muscle cells, the researchers could\u00a0determine\u00a0whether movement problems could arise without the central nervous system being involved.<\/p>\n

To test this, the researchers\u00a0paired\u00a0healthy\u00a0muscle cells\u00a0with\u00a0motor neurons\u00a0that were\u00a0created from stem cells\u00a0and\u00a0carried\u00a0familial Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u00a0mutations.\u00a0The\u00a0findings suggest that Alzheimer\u2019s-related movement issues may begin in the network of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord rather than being caused solely by brain degeneration.<\/p>\n

Why the\u00a0Nerve-to-Muscle Connection Matters<\/h2>\n

The neuromuscular junction is the point where a nerve cell signals a muscle to contract, making movement possible.\u00a0If that connection is damaged, the body may lose strength,\u00a0coordination\u00a0or endurance.<\/p>\n

In the study, the researchers measured several aspects of neuromuscular function, including how reliably nerve signals triggered muscle contraction and how long muscles could remain contracted before fatiguing. These measurements mirror the kinds of tests doctors use to evaluate movement disorders.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t move unless the motor circuit works,\u201d Hickman\u00a0says. \u201cWhen a doctor taps your knee to check your reflex, they\u2019re testing that exact connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Future of\u00a0\u2018Human-on-a-Chip\u2019\u00a0Technology<\/h2>\n

The researchers believe their approach will become increasingly important as drug developers look for more\u00a0accurate\u00a0ways to study human disease.<\/p>\n

Because the models use human cells and measure real biological\u00a0function, they can reveal effects that may not appear in animal studies.<\/p>\n

For Hickman, the work reflects\u00a030 years of research to\u00a0better understand disease and help people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese systems let us study disease in a way that\u2019s closer to what actually happens in the human body, and that\u2019s what we need to develop better treatments,\u201d\u00a0he says.<\/p>\n

\n

Research reported in this article was supported by the National Institutes of Health\u2019s National Institute on Aging under award number R01AG077651 and R44AG071386. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Using\u00a0human-on-a-chip technology, 麻豆原创 researchers\u00a0reveal\u00a0that\u00a0movement-related\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s\u00a0symptoms\u00a0may\u00a0start\u00a0in the body\u2019s nerves and muscles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8713,"featured_media":152486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[12,23,24],"tags":[982,54344,2398,3279,14916,54938],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-152455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-research","category-science-technology","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-heathcare","tag-james-hickman","tag-nanoscience-technology-center","tag-research","tag-xiufang-nadine-guo"],"yoast_head":"\n麻豆原创 Study Suggests Some Alzheimer\u2019s Symptoms May Begin Outside the 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