DYSFUNCTIONAL DROSOPHILAS

FLIES AND THEIR CONNECTION TO ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH

ALZHEIMER'S 5.7 MILLION

is a type of dementia and Americans are living
progressive disease that occurs due with Alzheimer's disease.
to the degeneration of the brain. 1 OUT OF 10
It is the 6th leading cause of death. individuals that are 65 and
older have Alzheimer's dementia.

ALZHEIMER'S
is associated with the formation of protein aggregates (large clusters of a
specific protein) that form within or outside neuronal cells. This results in
the progressive loss of specific neurons, causing severe neurological
dysfunction, and sometimes death.

Symptoms can include mental decline, difficulty thinking and

understanding, forgetfulness, difficulty with self care, and irritability.

FLIES? In an attempt to remedy Alzheimer's, many scientists began to make use of

fruit flies in their research because of their overall simple life cycle and genetic
similarities to humans.

Drosophila brains contain neurons (specialized cells of the nervous system that
convey information through signals) that share structural similarities to humans.
When introduced to the Alzheimer's gene, the flies found it harder to carry out
normal activities, such as flying or eating, and died prematurely. Due to their
similarities with humans in both genes and symptoms, they were deemed viable
test subjects for Alzheimer's research.

IMPACT Approximately 60% of genes associated with human cancers and other genetic
diseases are found in the fly genome. Therefore, the study of their brains can
reveal how our brains function in healthy or diseased states as well.

The use of flies in Alzheimer's studies have significantly helped research. In

2010, a new molecule designed by scientists in Sweden was believed to prevent
and reverse the dementia process. This experiment, and many others, used flies
in their research as tests in order to figure out if the solution would work. This
shows that the usage of flies in studies have been beneficial and important to
the research and development of cures.

CONNIE QUAN 1°