Team:MIT

Improving the Diagnosis and Treatment of

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Neurodegenerative disease

Sixth leading cause of death in the US

Current diagnostics and therapeutics
are ineffective

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, affecting more than 5 million Americans and resulting in the deaths of 500,000 people every year (Alzheimer's Association). Though one in three seniors dies with this disease (Alzheimer's Association), it currently has no cure, and, according to the clinicians that we interviewed, existing diagnosis methods are unreliable. MIT iGEM 2014 is working to change this situation. We set out to devise a way to diagnose Alzheimer's disease using biological rather than psychological tests and to invent a treatment mechanism that would capitalize on recent findings about the molecular pathology of the disease. Using the principles of synthetic biology, we designed a system that detects molecular biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease and alters the levels of key enzymes in response. Our dynamic system combats Alzheimer's disease only when the disease is detected, providing a specific, state-sensitive treatment. In the future, an approach like ours could provide a solution for patients suffering from the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease and improve the lives of their caretakers and family.

DETECTION → TREATMENT → DELIVERY

DETECTION

RESPONSE

DELIVERY