In a study from UC San Diego, memory deficits were erased in symptomatic Alzheimer’s mice when diseased neurons were re-programmed via a novel gene-therapy vector. Hippocampal circuitry was restored, and gene-expression profiles were shifted to resemble those of healthy controls. While human trials are still years away, optimism was generated among neuroscientists that a disease-modifying treatment— rather than symptomatic relief— may eventually be offered to patients worldwide.