AD goes 3D

A 3D cell-based model that encapsulates the two hallmark features of Alzheimer's disease-neurofibrillary tangles and b-amyloid plaques-has been created by a team at Massachusetts General Hospital to help screen compounds for the disease.¹Although the system goes far beyond existing in vitro models, scientists polled by SciBX disagree on whether it is close enough to the human disease to affect drug development.

More than a decade ago, a group from the University of California, Irvine developed a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that includes both amyloid and neurofibrillary tangle pathology.² But a reliable cell-based model would provide significant advantages for drug discovery by enabling more compounds to be rapidly screened...