In the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), elements of cellular stress termed the “integrated stress response” (ISR) and its initiators are persistently abnormal [1, 2], with translational dysregulation due to aberrant phosphorylation of the eukaryotic initiation factor 2 α-subunit (eIF2α) being well documented [3–5]. Here, EIF2A is linked to Alzheimer disease.