'Alzheimer’s is a disease without a clear diagnostic test nor a cure. However, researchers are developing new techniques and methods every day and in Professor Aijun Wang’s Lab at UC Davis, Biomedical Engineering graduate students Leora Goldbloom-Helzner and David Wang are exploring potential diagnoses and treatments for Alzheimer’s patients using extracellular vesicles.   

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are essentially transport carriers that deliver necessary packages, such as proteins or metabolites, to specific cells in the body. Goldbloom-Helzner says to think of EVs as an international postal service between cells near and far.  

“When cells are right next to each other in the body, they can communicate by direct changes in their behavior through molecular transfer,” she said. This means that when in contact, the cells can undergo changes in direct response to molecules moving from cell to cell.'

Read the full story at College of Engineering News