Research offers new hope for those at higher risk of Alzheimer's disease

by Brian Consiglio, University of Missouri

edited by Swati Mestri, reviewed by Andrew Zinin

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A new study from the University of Missouri offers hope for those who are at significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life.

Ai-Ling Lin, a professor in the School of Medicine and investigator at the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, is working to identify ways to prevent the onset of the disease.

Her research focuses on people who carry the APOE4 gene variant, which is associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's disease. These individuals often experience reduced blood flow to certain regions of the brain years before memory problems emerge, making diminished cerebral blood flow a potential early indicator of Alzheimer's risk.

In her latest study, Lin found that an anti-aging drug increased blood flow to the brains of healthy middle-aged adults who carry the APOE4 gene variant.

The paper is published in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism.

"Alzheimer's tends to happen more in older people, especially for those with APOE4," Lin said. "If we can slow down aging in the brain for those people most at risk, maybe we can reduce the risk of them developing Alzheimer's disease."

Before coming to Mizzou, Lin studied the drug rapamycin, which is typically prescribed to prevent organ transplant rejection and to treat certain rare diseases. Lin showed that the drug can also slow down brain aging and improve brain blood flow in mice with APOE4.

For the recent study, Lin wanted to determine whether the same benefits would extend to people ages 45 to 65 who carry the APOE4 gene variant but have not yet developed symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

Participants with and without the gene variant took a low dose of rapamycin daily for four weeks. Lin found that only those with APOE4 showed improved blood flow in the brain, suggesting the drug could help preserve cognitive function for those at higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

"We also found that females with APOE4 saw the greatest improvement in brain blood flow, which is significant given that nearly two-thirds of people with Alzheimer's are women," she said. "This research is an example of precision medicine, as we work to identify who can benefit from this drug the most."

More information

Chetan Aware et al, EXPRESS: Rapamycin increases cerebral blood flow and modulates metabolic, inflammatory, and microbiome profiles in healthy middle-aged APOE4 carriers: a pilot single-arm trial, Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism (2026). DOI: 10.1177/0271678x261490342

Key medical concepts

Alzheimer's DiseaseSirolimuscerebral blood flow

Clinical categories

NeurologyClinical geneticsClinical pharmacology Provided by University of Missouri Who's behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile →

Andrew Zinin

Master's in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X's editorial success. Full profile →

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