A tiny ball of gold could help fight Alzheimer’s

A tiny ball of gold carrying medicine could help doctors fight Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists have created a nanoparticle that is just the right size to target the overactive brain receptors that cause neurological disease, while leaving the rest of the receptors we need alone. This super-precise method could reduce the side effects of a common Alzheimer’s drug so doctors can prescribe it to help people during earlier stages of the condition.

Neurological problems can be caused by too much of a brain receptor called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA receptor for short). One Alzheimer’s treatment uses a drug called memantine to block these NMDA receptors. But memantine can’t tell the difference between the NMDA receptors we need to function...