How to pronounce "inflammation"

or you find them and you think,

"What are these for?"

So what happens when amyloid plaques accumulate to this tipping point?

Our microglia janitor cells become hyper-activated,

releasing chemicals that cause inflammation and cellular damage.

We think they might actually start clearing away

the synapses themselves.

A crucial neural transport protein called "tau" becomes hyperphosphorylated

and twists itself into something called "tangles,"

which choke off the neurons from the inside.

By mid-stage Alzheimer's, we have massive inflammation and tangles

and all-out war at the synapse

and cell death.

So if you were a scientist trying to cure this disease,

at what point would you ideally want to intervene?

Many scientists are betting big on the simplest solution:

keep amyloid plaques from reaching that tipping point,

which means that drug discovery is largely focused on developing a compound

that will prevent, eliminate, or reduce amyloid plaque accumulation.

So the cure for Alzheimer's will likely be a preventative medicine.

We're going to have to take this pill before we reach that tipping point,