Researchers Study Aging Baboon Brains for Alzheimer's
A $200,000 San Antonio Medical Foundation grant funds a pilot study mapping proteins in aging baboon brain tissue.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Alzheimer’s
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Texas Biomedical Research Institute and UT Health San Antonio researchers will study brains of aging baboons with $200,000 in San Antonio Medical Foundation funding. The pilot study will run over the next year, with researchers seeking additional funding for further work.
Why it matters
Alzheimer's disease is typically diagnosed after a cascade of brain changes has already occurred, and researchers cannot yet fully explain what happens inside the brain that drives it. The study aims to understand what drives Alzheimer's and typical age-related neurodegeneration, with the ultimate goal of earlier detection and intervention.
The evidence comes from a grant-funded pilot study that will take small brain tissue samples from aging baboons and map proteins using spatial proteomics, alongside cognitive testing and blood biomarkers. The $200,000 San Antonio Medical Foundation grant supports the work, while the study's results and whether further funding will be obtained remain unknown.
The players
Texas Biomedical Research Institute
A San Antonio-based independent biomedical research institute that conducts infectious disease and neuroscience research, including work at its Southwest National Primate Research Center.
UT Health San Antonio
The academic health science center of the University of Texas System in San Antonio, home to medical, nursing, and dental schools and research programs.
San Antonio Medical Foundation
A San Antonio philanthropic organization that funds local medical research and healthcare initiatives.
The details
Researchers will take small brain tissue samples from aging baboons and use spatial proteomics to map proteins at the molecular level, with brain biopsies accompanied by cognitive testing and blood biomarkers. The work focuses on beta-amyloid plaques, which build up inside diseased brains often many years before symptoms begin, and tau proteins, which change shape inside nerve cells and become tangled.
Timeline
The pilot study will run over the next year.
Roadmap
Nonhuman primate models are used to study brain aging because baboons share many age-related neural features with humans. This San Antonio study extends that research tradition into the molecular mapping of Alzheimer's-related proteins in aging tissue.
The study is at an early research stage and does not change current treatment or testing options. Alzheimer's is generally tested only in patients already showing symptoms, so the research aims to eventually enable earlier detection.
The takeaway
Earlier detection of Alzheimer's depends on understanding the brain changes that begin long before symptoms appear, and studies like this one aim to map those changes. Readers concerned about memory changes should discuss them with a healthcare provider.
Further reading
For more background on the disease itself, explore our Alzheimer's coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by San Antonio Report.
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