In neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD), the telomerase protein TERT can ameliorate harmful proteins like beta amyloid, pathogenic tau, and alpha-synucleinimpact . As the Braak stage progresses, the amount of hyperphosphorylated tau protein that forms neurofibrillary threads and tangles diminishes, and TERT protein is primarily located in neurons in a normal brain . Hippocampal neurons from Alzheimer's disease brains have a greater mitochondrial localization of the TERT protein . There appears to be a novel function for TERT protein in neurons of brain tissue. Reducing oxidative stress is possible by localization to mitochondria. Once DNA damage reaches a specific degree, telomerase is unable to continue its function .