As the most common form of dementia in the Western world, Alzheimer’s disease carries enormous implications for our ageing society. It is generally accepted that the disease is caused by Alzheimer peptide protofibrils. Until now, the conditions under which this type of protofibril is formed and leads to the disease remained unknown. VIB researchers have now discovered that certain lipids, present also in our brains, promote the formation of this protofibril.