In PNAS, biochemists from Utrecht University and their international colleagues present a new measurement method called FibrilPaint, which makes the growth of harmful protein clumps in the brain visible.

A major problem with diagnosing dementia is that it is often detected too late. By the time memory loss is detected, most of the brain damage has already occurred. The leading hypothesis for the cause of dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, is the formation of amyloid fibrils in the brain. These thin, fibrous protein clumps can grow silently for years without the patient noticing. Existing techniques are nearly unable to detect these early changes.