Media Outlets Highlight New Study by Dr. Silvia Fossati and Scientists at Lewis Katz School of Medicine That Uncovers How Tau Protein Weakens Brain’s Vascular Defenses in Alzheimer’s Disease

A harmful form of the tau protein, which builds up in Alzheimer’s disease and similar brain disorders, can directly damage blood vessels in the brain, according to a new study by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University. The discovery, reported online in Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, uncovers a novel molecular mechanism that potentially explains tau-mediated vascular dysfunction in the brain and highlights the importance of focusing on early neurovascular changes mediated by tau to help prevent or slow down damage to the blood-brain barrier in Alzheimer’s disease. Silvia Fossati, PhD, is the Interim Director of the Alzheimer's Center at Temple, Associate Professor of Neural Sciences and Cardiovascular Sciences at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, and senior author on the new paper. Graduate student Roberto Guzmán-Hernández is first author on the paper. Multiple media outlets covered the news.