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 ...
“Who am I and why am I here?’
That’s the nice thing about Alzheimer’s. You’re always meeting new people and going to new places.
You make more money with “drugs for life”.
btt
Nah, it was much worse than that. It came on after a traffic accident in which her head hit against the driver's window of the car, then she started having personality changes. We wondered if it might be slight brain damage or a series of strokes, but she was tested and they said none of that was visible. She became extremely combative at one point, and began cursing regularly, which was a sure sign something was wrong as this woman never cursed, nor was she ever a difficult person with whom to deal. She would not live with any of her eight children, so we were blessed to find a woman who could live with her, in her house, during the week, then one of us would come down and stay with her for the weekend. She was able to stay there for three years at which point she began having some physical problems that the live in caregiver could not handle.
By then, she just kept saying she wanted to go home, but had no idea where home was, so we were able to find a nursing home that cared for Alzheimers patients. The aides there were always very nice to her. She died after being there two years, and frankly, though we grieved for Mama, she hadn't really been there for several years, so we mainly just all breathed a sign of relief, and had some good laughs of the times we'd been with her when she was all there. It was a good thing there were no other grieving families in the funeral home that night of her wake. They might have been scandalized because we got really raucous with laughing and visiting with old friends of the family.
I’m a firm believer in doing a word puzzle every day.
That’s a badly misleading headline. Studies with mice don’t equal a “cure.”
Exact same thing with my Mom.
We are complicated. All you are going to do is stress yourself out trying. How about a nice game of chess?:’)
I do math problems every day. I really tax myself. I’m simply not a verbal person.
Uh....Dad said “Never try to figure out a woman”. (He said it to me...his daughter)....But I KNOW he was talking about...yeh, MOM.
I just love it when I hear they are trying the new meds out on people that are 80-90 years old...who have already been in nursing homes for years. MONEY!! And if they can’t get it from you...don’t worry...they’ll get it from the government somehow.
Thanks for the ping.
I would assume these things:
1. Watching hours and hours of TV a day is harmful for the brain.
2. Ditto for other forms of mindless “entertainment”.
3. Activities which promote thinking in all its forms is beneficial for the brain.
and last but not least:
4. Experimenting with laboratory animals is cruel and useless. I could have told them everything they figured out (besides drugs) without torturing mice. After genetically engineering them, whatever the hell that is.
Actually, exposure to aluminum, through cookware or cans, is believed to be a major cause. What you cite could also be a factor.
Not that unusual. The funeral events of my father, who had the Big A, and my father-in-law, who did not, were like that. Father in law had a series of mini-strokes, which produce some, but not all, of the same symptoms. My father in law never had the personalities changes that are so typical with Alzheimer's. He slept a lot, but chuckled in his sleep, and chuckled when awake, both when he was lucid, and when he wasn't. But he'd always chuckled a lot.
My FiL's funeral was in February. The other funeral I went to this past year was not like that at all. My sister in law, 46, with two kids still in high school, died in November of a very aggressive renal cancer. About two months from first symptoms til she died, and not a pleasant two months either, especialy the second month.
I know that was thought to be the case years ago, but I'm not sure they think that any more. Else why would it run in families over many generations, going back to when everyone used cast iron cookware and cans were steel or glass (they were of course called Jars).
Thankfully, they have all done well, and she is a proud mother of three fine young adults. What's really interesting is that the youngest daughter, who spent her growing up years with the second wife has begun to look like her in many ways.
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