A research team has finally discovered how neurons die in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The team is led by Professor Bart De Strooper at VIB-KU Leuven and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI) at UCL and Dr. Sriram Balusu at VIB-KU Leuven. A subject of scientific discussion in recent decades, a breakthrough research paper illustrates how neurons initiate a programmed form of cell death, known as necroptosis, when they are exposed to amyloid plaques and tau tangles. This is a hallmark misfolded proteins implicated in Alzheimer’s.