Posted on 05/28/2007 9:54:37 AM PDT by neverdem
DEGENERATIVE brain diseases, including Alzheimers, could one day be treated with drugs that can reverse distressing loss of memory, according to a study released Sunday.
The very term "memory loss'' could be a misnomer in such cases, suggests the study, published in British journal Nature: that cherished recollection of a first kiss, seemingly destroyed by disease, may have simply been rendered inaccessible by obstructed neural pathways.
In laboratory experiments, mice suffering the type of brain damage which in humans typically leads to dementia - robbing victims of the ability to remember past events or even to recognize loved ones - were able to recover memories acquired during earlier conditioning, according to the study carried out by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Following a period of rehabilitation through mental stimulation, the genetically modified mice successfully performed tasks they had forgotten in the wake of damage inflicted on specific neural networks in the brain.
The same regenerative results were also later obtained through a drug treatment.
While there is no guarantee that the same techniques will work in humans, the study does raise "the possibility of recovering long-term memories in patients'' ravaged by certain neurological disorders, according to lead author Li-Huei Tsai, who conducted the study with four colleagues.
Neurodegenerative diseases attack those parts of the brain and spinal cord that control bodily movement and process information stored in the form of memories.
When brain cells deteriorate or are destroyed, they are not replaced.
Earlier studies have shown, however, that healthy neurons stimulated through mental activity or directly by chemicals can grow stronger and reconfigure themselves.
Tsai's breakthrough in a series of ingenious experiments was to demonstrate that this same process of remodeling can be reparative, unlocking memories rendered inaccessible by diseases causing "significant brain atrophy and neuronal loss.''
The...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
thanks for posting.
Stimulation, not just drugs. Hm.
One certainly hopes and prays that it’s so.
I agree.
What was it you were saying again?
Who am I and why am I here?
They knew this 50 years ago but the doctor that discovered it forgot where he put his notes.
If my mother was any indication, the older the memory, the more likely she was to have retained it. It was newer memories she couldn't create. But then, she may not have had true Alzheimers, just classic old age dementia.
My grandmother had Alzheimer’s. Totally changed her personality. She thought my sister was her daughter, and had no recollection of my mother.
She also thought it was her husband who went door to door to collect the bodies of those who died from the flu. (It was actually her father who did that.)
Horrible disease.
You're a DFL'er aren't you. /snicker
My grandfather probably had just classic senile dementia, but HIS mother definitely had Alzheimer's -- onset in her 40s, by the time she was in her 50s she had to be institutionalized. So naturally we are all kind of looking over our shoulders . . .
There are some drugs used in combination that are showing real promise for stopping and even reversing memory loss. Aricept and Namenda together seem to be particularly effective.
Mom's more classic Alzheimers - listless, cares nothing about hygiene, confused, etc., etc.
Not as horrible as cancer or the likes of twin tower disease however is it?
What’s a DFLer? Dare I ask?
Me thinks I need to see a Doctor....
short term memory problems
The prominent political party here in Minnesota.
Democrat/farm/labor...
The socialist party to those who don't reside here.
The big news on the AD front is Bapineuzumab.
” ... could one day be treated ...”
Yippee, that’s so helpful right now.
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