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He Was Expected To Get Alzheimer's 25 Years Ago. Why Hasn't He?
Thursday October 9, 2025. 10:42 PM , from Slashdot
![]() Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have studied Whitney for 14 years. They extract his cerebrospinal fluid and conduct brain scans during his periodic visits from Washington State. His brain contains heavy amyloid deposits but almost no tau tangles in regions associated with dementia. Tau accumulation correlates directly with cognitive decline. Whitney accumulated tau only in his left occipital lobe, an area that does not play a major role in Alzheimer's. Researchers identified several possibly protective factors in Whitney's biology. His immune system produces a lower inflammatory response than other mutation carriers. He has unusually high levels of heat shock proteins, which prevent proteins from misfolding. Scientists believe his decade working in Navy engine rooms at temperatures reaching 110 degrees may have driven this accumulation. He also carries three gene variants his afflicted relatives lack. His son Brian inherited the mutation and remains asymptomatic at 43. Brian received anti-amyloid drugs in clinical trials. Researchers published their findings on Whitney in Nature Medicine. They described the study as a call for other scientists to help solve the case. Read more of this story at Slashdot.
https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/10/09/1913200/he-was-expected-to-get-alzheimers-25-years-ago-w...
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