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GREAT FALLS- Some medical mice from Great Falls used in the research of Alzheimer's disease are making headlines around the world.

A front-page article in the New York Times summarizes two independent studies which reached the same conclusion - Alzheimer's disease spreads a distorted protein in an infectious manner.

The McLaughlin Research Institute in Great Falls supplied the genetically engineered mice which helped make the findings possible.

Researchers showed that the protein, which can be found in one very small area of the brain, spreads from cell to cell.

"Since it goes from cell to cell, this is a nice place to be able to block transmission. So, if someone is very early Alzheimer's and it's restricted to small regions of the brain, and you can block transfer from one cell to another, it's a new target...a new way to think about therapy for the disease," Dr. George Carlson, director of the institute, said.

McLaughlin Research Institute was not cited in the New York Times article, but the entire study will be highlighted in the scientific journal "Neuron."