Tracking Alzheimer's-Linked Protein in Live Brains

Scientists for the first time have peered into people's brains to directly measure the ebb and flow of a substance notorious for its role in Alzheimer's disease. The delicate research was performed not with Alzheimer's patients but with people suffering severe brain injuries _ because a brain injury increases the risk of developing dementia later in life. The goal is to learn why, so that doctors one day might be able to lower that risk. But with this first-step study, a team of scientists from Missouri and Italy got a surprise.