Indiana University School of Medicine researchers have found that niacin limits Alzheimer's disease progression when used in models in the lab, a discovery that could potentially pave the way toward therapeutic approaches to the disease.

The study, recently published in Science Translational Medicine, investigates how niacin modulates microglia response to amyloid plaques in an Alzheimer's disease animal model.

Gary Landreth, Ph.D., Martin Professor of Alzheimer's Research, and Miguel Moutinho, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in Anatomy, Cell Biology and Physiology, led the study.

"This study identifies a potential novel therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease, which can be modulated by FDA-approved drugs," Moutinho said. "The translational potential of this strategy to clinical use is high."

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