MTOR and Alzheimer disease: Aberrant mTOR signaling is strongly implicated in impaired autophagy, lysosomal dysfunction, and protein aggregation in AD brains.32,33 Consistent with previous studies showing elevated BCAAs in plasma and CSF of AD patients,31,34 our data support the hypothesis that dysregulated BCAA metabolism exacerbates neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and excitotoxic cascades, ultimately accelerating neurodegeneration.