Alzheimer's Cure Is Being Pursued With the Help of an Online Game

A team of scientists is using a game designed by Cornell University's Human Computation Institute to make a public search for a cure for Alzheimer's entertaining, reports the Washington Post . "Stall Catchers" has players watch short movies made with a multiphoton microscope showing the flow of blood through the brains of living mice. Participants work on a dataset of thousands of images to find "stalls," regions of reduced blood flow caused by white blood cells accruing on the sides of the vessels. Players obtain points for "catching" stalls and can participate in challenges and marathons, forming or joining teams and leagues and competing to find the most stalls. Thus far, participants have been correct about stalls more than 99 percent of the time. It is believed that reduced blood flow in the brain is at least a partial cause of Alzheimer's symptoms. In mice with the disease, as much as 2 percent of brain capillaries can be stalled. Given the deep interconnectivity of vessels in the brain, these stalls can restrict overall brain blood flow by up to 30 percent. Reduced blood flow also has been detected in the brains of humans with Alzheimer's. The prevention of stall occurrence in mice has been shown to eliminate some Alzheimer's symptoms. The Cornell researchers must gather more information about stalls to determine if a similar treatment would work for people, but it could take decades to learn enough to develop an effective and safe medication.