Scientists have long suspected a protein called amyloid-beta, found clumped in the brains of autopsied patients, plays a role in the disease. Researchers at the Gladstone Institute for Neurological Disease in San Francisco reported today that mice with Alzheimer’s symptoms and high levels of the protein have patterns of intense brain activity akin to seizures.

“People with Alzheimer’s disease have good days and bad days,” said Lennart Mucke, director of the Institute and the study’s senior author. “The study implies that it may be possible to prevent these abnormal brain wave activities with anticonvulsant medicines that are available right now.”