A recent study found that the build up of amyloid beta protein, known to be found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, “also helps skin cancer cells thrive when they spread to the brain.” The study found that in the deadliest form of skin cancer melanoma, “cancer cells that have spread to the brain depend on amyloid beta to survive there.” The researchers also found that the amyloid beta that is secreted from the cancer cells “ramps down immune responses that would otherwise recognize cancer cells as abnormal and attack them, much as they attack invading bacteria.” These findings help to better understand amyloid beta’s role in Alzheimer’s disease and potential treatment to reduce its levels.