Amyloid plaques form when a molecule called amyloid precursor protein (APP) is chopped up by two enzymes known as beta-secretase and gamma-secretase.

For the past decade there has been a lot of work on drugs called secretase inhibitors, which alter the activity of the enzymes that create amyloid beta-peptide 42.

Eberhart and colleagues studied glioblastoma cell lines to investigate the effects of a gamma-secretase inhibitor, a medication that blocks the Notch receptor, on tumor growth.