Question: Do you think stem cell research could one day cure alzheimers?

Rachel Harris answered on 12 Nov 2016:

This is a great question and lots of scientists are working on it. I think stem cells are useful for researching and understanding why nerve cells die in Alzheimer’s disease but I’m not sure if stem cells will be a good treatment.

Replacing the nerve cells in the brain with new stem cells doesn’t stop the disease. This is because we don’t understand the reason why the cells are dying and research has found the even when new stem cells are added to the brain they can still develop the disease and die.

I think if we understand the original reason why the nerve cells die we’ll find an effective treatment for the disease.