After studying psychology in Maastricht, Jacobs returned to her native Belgium; she wanted to practise in a clinical setting. Working with neurological patients, she discovered her interest in research. “I realised I had all these questions I couldn’t answer. How does this work in the brain? What exactly is happening to these people? I became very frustrated with the fact that I was using knowledge, rather than creating it.”

By now, she has fulfilled her ambition – and then some. Last year, Jacobs and her colleagues in Boston showed how tau, the dreaded ‘Alzheimer’s protein’, spreads throughout the brain: across the connections between brain cells. This process is facilitated by the other Alzheimer’s protein, amyloid beta, resulting in memory problems. “That was very exciting, as it had never been shown in live subjects before.”

Using the 7 Tesla MRI scanner in Maastricht, she also succeeded in visualising the structure of the locus coeruleus in live subjects. This tiny brainstem region is where tau proteins begin to accumulate. “Surprisingly, we already see this in people in their 30s. And on average, half of people in their 50s have tau accumulation in their brains.” Yet not everyone develops Alzheimer’s later in life. Identifying the factors that contribute to this is the next step – and to that end, studying young people is crucial.

Treatment

Jacobs knows first-hand what Alzheimer’s does to people. Her grandmother went from a spirited lady to a helpless, frightened woman who recognised nobody and could no longer take care of herself. “It’s very scary to see it happen, in other patients as well”, she says. “Sometimes I wonder why I study this disease rather than something like cancer, which also affects young children. I think it’s because no other disease affects your personality to this extent. Take a person’s memory away and not much is left. That’s a major reason why I do this research.”

Although we’re still a long way from preventing or curing the disease, Jacobs is optimistic about the future of Alzheimer’s research. “In recent years, many scientists – myself included – have realised it’s too simplistic to think the disease is caused by just two proteins. It’s probably a combination of many other things as well. We’ve learnt that vascular factors have an influence, and that lifestyle factors are associated with a lower risk of developing the disease. As a result, you see that studies are expanding and becoming more complex.”

Maastricht researchers have recently started setting up a large-scale study to gather data on subjects aged between 20 and 100 years. The STRAIN study will collect not only MRI scans, but also information from blood analyses, cognitive tests, stress tests and lifestyle data. “Our goal is to monitor people for a number of years to be able to make connections between changes in the brain, memory performance and lifestyle factors.” Looking at Alzheimer’s research worldwide, Jacobs concludes that many seeds have been sown. “I’m 41, so hopefully I still have quite a few years ahead of me. I have high hopes that a treatment to delay Alzheimer’s may be found in my lifetime.”