Health
Alzheimer’s scientists find key to halting brain decline before symptoms
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Scientists may have found a way to stop Alzheimer’s damage before it starts — by “melting” the tiny protein clumps that are the early triggers of the disease.
Alzheimer’s has long been linked to harmful tau protein fibrils that build up in the brain and interfere with cognitive function, but researchers have now discovered soft, small clusters that appear first.
When those early clusters were dissolved, it prevented the toxic fibrils from forming, which could effectively block the disease, according to researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University.
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Led by Professor Rei Kurita, the scientists used precise X-ray and fluorescence methods in a laboratory setting to find the microscopic “precursors,” which measured only tens of nanometers, according to a press release.
Because the tiny precursors were soft, the researchers were able to dissolve them. As a result, no tau fibrils were formed.
Scientists may have found a way to stop Alzheimer’s damage before it starts — by “melting” the tiny protein clumps that are the early triggers of the disease. (iStock)
These results suggest a shift in how scientists might develop Alzheimer’s disease treatments.
Rather than focusing on breaking apart the final fibril formations, new therapies could target the earlier, reversible precursor stage to prevent harmful structures from forming in the first place, according to the release.
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This strategy could eventually be applied to the research of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.
The study did have some limitations, primarily that it involved in-vitro biochemical models and no humans or animals. It’s not known whether similar reversible clusters exist in human brain tissue.
Alzheimer’s has long been linked to harmful tau protein fibrils that build up in the brain and interfere with cognitive function. (iStock)
More research is needed to find out if breaking up these protein clusters is safe and could actually help treat the disease.
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Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, was not involved in the study but shared his reactions to the findings.
“There are three essential components structurally involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease — beta amyloid proteins, tau proteins and neuroinflammation,” he told Fox News Digital.
“In the future, there will likely be triple therapy — anti-inflammation, anti-beta-amyloid and anti-tau.”
“There are already treatments on the market to target beta amyloid buildup, and now here’s a targeted therapy to dissolve and disrupt tau protein buildup before it forms the dreaded neurofibrillatory tangles.”
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Siegel believes this is “bound to be of clinical value” and will likely be better tolerated than other medications currently on the market.
“In the future, there will likely be triple therapy — anti-inflammation, anti-beta-amyloid and anti-tau,” he predicts.
“This is promising basic research that may turn out to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the disease, but it is preliminary,” an expert said. (iStock)
Courtney Kloske, Ph.D., director of scientific engagement for the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago, also reacted to the study in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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“This manuscript focuses on altering the structure of tau, one of the hallmark brain proteins involved in Alzheimer’s, and on exploring approaches that could potentially slow or stop disease development,” said Kloske, who was also not involved in the study.
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“This is promising basic research that may turn out to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the disease, but it is preliminary, and additional studies are needed to determine how these findings can be translated into human studies.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers for comment.
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Eliminating sugar from your diet may seem like the key to healthy eating, but research suggests it could have unintended effects on digestive health.
A study presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, suggests that a total lack of sucrose, or table sugar, may harm gut health and disrupt the body’s natural metabolism.
To explore how the total absence of dietary sugar impacts the body, researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait City conducted a 16-week study on two groups of mice. Both groups were placed on a low-fat diet, but with one critical difference.
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One group consumed a low-fat diet that included a standard amount of sucrose, while the other group ate a low-fat diet that was completely sugar-free, according to the study’s press release.
Throughout the trial, the scientists monitored a wide variety of physiological factors, including the animals’ weight, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, hormone levels, internal inflammation and the specific composition of their gut bacteria.
A total lack of dietary sugar can cause imbalances in the gut bacteria and lead to signs of fatty liver disease, even without any weight gain, researchers said. (iStock)
The study outcome suggested that completely removing sugar caused several unexpected health problems.
“Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction,” Rasheed Ahmad, principal scientist and head of the Immunology & Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, said in the release.
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Even though the mice on the sugar-free diet did not gain any extra weight compared to the control group, their internal health indicators deteriorated.
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The animals that lacked sucrose developed an imbalance in their gut microbes and increased inflammation within the intestines and liver.
They also showed signs of poor glucose regulation, insulin resistance and cellular changes associated with fatty liver disease, according to the research.
Future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar bans and instead focus on overall gut health through balanced nutrition. (iStock)
“The findings suggest that complete removal of sucrose from a low-fat diet may negatively affect gut microbiota and metabolic health,” Ahmad concluded.
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While the risks of high-sugar diets are well-established, the researchers noted that little attention has been given to the effects of completely eliminating sugar from low-fat meals.
Scientists say these new findings highlight that dietary carbohydrates play a valuable role in supporting balance between the immune system and the gut microbiome.
Completely cutting sucrose from a low-fat diet can unexpectedly trigger gut inflammation and disrupt the metabolism, experts say. (iStock)
Because this research was conducted on mice over a relatively short 16-week period, further clinical trials are necessary to determine whether a completely sugar-free diet causes the same gut and liver inflammation in humans.
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Additionally, the study focused specifically on removing sucrose from low-fat meals, meaning the results might not apply to people eliminating sugar while following higher-fat or ketogenic eating plans, the researchers noted.
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The team believes that future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar restrictions and instead place a greater emphasis on maintaining a diverse, healthy population of gut bacteria through balanced nutrition.
“In the long term, these findings could help improve strategies for preventing and managing metabolic disorders, fatty liver disease and chronic inflammatory conditions,” Ahmad said.
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A cure for cancer could be on the horizon in the next decade, according to experts.
During the WSJ Leadership Institute CEO Summit in London last week, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato reflected on the pharmaceutical company’s projections on the future of cancer treatment.
In the next 10 years, the goal is to “try to eliminate cancer,” Duato shared.
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“That’s a high goal, and we are already making significant progress in certain cancers,” he said.
Duato used multiple myeloma as an example, noting that the life expectancy is currently 10 years, when it was previously “only single years.”
Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson, speaks at the Punchbowl News Conference at Union Station on March 10, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
“We have treatments now that utilize your own immune system to attack the cancer,” he said at the summit. “For patients who were already going into hospice, so they didn’t have any other alternative, they are [at] more than five years, with a single administration, in remission. That [is] spectacular.”
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“When patients see that, they cannot believe that because they have been coming to the hospital every week [for] a decade, having multiple therapies.”
The goal is to “try to eliminate cancer” in the next 10 years, the pharmaceutical executive said. (iStock)
According to Duato, Johnson & Johnson is working to understand the biology of cancer growth and to formulate new technologies to address it.
“It’s realistic to believe that we are going to cure certain cancers, and some others we’re going to turn into chronic diseases,” he predicted.
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“Cancer is an important thing – I cannot think about anybody who has not been touched by cancer,” he went on. “But there are many other opportunities for us to actually advance science, to address very important social problems.”
Duato called out dementia as another “important problem” in need of a solution.
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He predicted that life expectancy, which has risen steadily over the past century, will continue to increase as longevity technologies and solutions advance, improving quality of life along the way.
Duato commented that J&J has been optimistic about the role artificial intelligence will play in the future of healthcare, calling it a “force multiplier.”
Biomarkers and AI can help with the earlier diagnosis of cancer, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery, a doctor noted. (iStock)
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel agreed with Duato’s outlook on the future of cancer care, noting that certain cancers will turn into chronic diseases while others will find outright cures.
“Advances [will be] based on the use of AI to help guide targeted treatments with expanding knowledge of cancer mutations and how to target them,” he predicted, speaking to Fox News Digital.
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Siegel added that biomarkers and AI can help with earlier diagnoses, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery.
J&J recently acquired Firefly Bio, a biotech firm that produces drugs that enter cancer cells to “target certain proteins that contain difficult to treat gene mutations,” the doctor added.
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