Alzheimer’s disease might originate in the liver, according to scientists at Scripps Research Institute.

Researchers used a drug that prevented amyloid-beta plaques created in the liver from migrating to the brain and found it dramatically reduced the level of these plaques in the brains of healthy mice. In the brain, amyloid-beta plaques are commonly associated with Alzheimer’s.

Scientists speculate that humans might have a similar response, which would make the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease relatively simple. The study was published last month in The Journal of Neuroscience Research.