Alzheimer's drugs (BACE inhibitors) may have adverse side effects

Alzheimer's disease drugs now being tested in clinical trials may have potentially adverse side effects, according to new Northwestern Medicine research. A study with mice suggests the drugs could act like a bad electrician, causing neurons to be miswired and interfering with their ability to send messages to the brain. Working with BACE1, Vassar discovered the animals' olfactory system – used for the sense of smell -- was incorrectly wired. The axons of the olfactory neurons were not wired properly to the olfactory bulb of the brain. The findings show the key role of BACE1 in axonal guidance.