Scientists in London have found a new process that may explain how brain cells die in people with Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at King’s College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute studied about 3,000 brain cells from people with and without Alzheimer’s. They looked at tissue from the frontal cortex, a part of the brain that controls thinking and memory.

The scientists discovered more signs of a process called karyoptosis in Alzheimer’s-affected brain tissue. Karyoptosis is a type of damage that starts in the nucleus, the centre of a cell where DNA is stored. This damage may happen because harmful proteins cause too much stress inside the cells.

The team found that this problem affects a key protein called LaminB1 in the nucleus. As a result, the nucleus breaks down, and the brain cell dies. This research gives scientists a new direction for developing future Alzheimer’s treatments.