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Alzheimer's disease seems to spread like an infection from brain cell to brain cell, two new studies in mice have found. But instead of viruses or bacteria, what is being spread is a distorted protein known as tau.
The surprising finding answers a longstanding question and has immediate implications for developing treatments, researchers said. And they suspect that other degenerative brain diseases like Parkinson's may spread in a similar way.
Alzheimer’s researchers have long known that dying, tau-filled cells first emerge in a small area of the brain where memories are made and stored. The disease then slowly moves outward to larger areas that involve remembering and reasoning.
But for more than a quarter-century, researchers have been unable to decide between two explanations. One is that the spread may mean that the disease is transmitted from neuron to neuron, perhaps along the paths that nerve cells use to communicate with one another. Or it could simply mean that some brain areas are more resilient than others and resist the disease longer.
you know this!
Having had to care for my mother I can attest to the devasting effect of this disease on the elderly. It is also terrible for the relatives. Not only you see how your loved one personality desintegrates but you also have to deal with numerous issues behavioral, medical and legal issues related to their cognitive deterioration. My sister took the greatest burden of caring for my mother and it took a heavy toll on her health. An Alheimer cure or even something that ameliorates the symptoms would be wonderful for all, not only for the sufferers of this devasting disease.
75% of the Defense Department bloated budget is for unnecessary expenditures. I get very depressed when I think about what else (including medical research and education) the money could be spent for….
As opposed to not finding a cure at all. Or do you think someone is going to stumble on a cure while working in his/her basement?
Amen!
The problem seems to be that the toxic substances that cause Alzheimers are produced by the brain itself, not any kind of virus. Suggestions for preventing it that I have seen all center around keeping an active mind. I’ve pointed this out to friends who’ve then claimed that their mothers or whoever DID have an active mind when I know for a fact that they weren’t readers or thinkers and probably spent much of their elderly life (and earlier) in front of the TV. Read, write, get online and post your thoughts. (Of course, this requires thoughts.)
I know I’m going to get responses from people who know other people with Alzheimers who supposedly did all this but it’s a statistical thing. It’s like using exercise to keep your body healthy. You can always point to theformer jogging guru Jim Fixx ("Jog, Run, Race") who died in his fifties as a counterexample. But, as they say, the exception proves the rule….
So I should stick with my Alzheimers Prevention Smoking Therapy?
This is Newt’s brain..when campaigning?
Researchers announce they are getting very close. The stumbled on how to cure the disease but they need to go to the next step and turn it into monthly annuity payments to big Pharma in the way of monthly pill prescriptions.
It afforded Newt Gingrich not one but two lines of credit at Tiffanys Jewelers...IMO, it was one line of credit for the third wife…And seeing that he divorced his second wife to marry his second mistress too, that second line of credit is probaldy for his third mistress.
i know it first hand as i loss my mother and in a way my dad to it. she had it and he took care of her for 10 yrs befor he could no longer do it. i do hope they find a cure
Imagine if the costs of the Iraq and Afghan Wars had been used to find a way to prevent or slow-down these dementias. Now imagine the reality of a military-industrial complex that owns the government. On second thought, you don’t have to imagine reality.
Very interesting. Cannabis affects the pre-synapses so I believe research into its use in Alzheimer’s is warranted.
It sounds as if it moves the way electricity does…you start off with one socket that doesn’t work and eventually the short spreads through the entire house.
Sadly, you’re probably right.
Sadly, it is not just the elderly, early onset Alzheimer’s can show up in your 40′s. One of my colleagues was diagnosed at 46, she became totally incapable of caring for herself by 50.
but thank God all that money that pours into political campaigns goes for a worthwhile cause…F&F
Hope they find a cure soon for this horrible, cruel disease.
It’s a horrible disease, to see loved one’s in such distress? It’s worth a try..http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3485163/Marijuana-may-improve-memory-and-help-fight-Alzheimers.html-
1. By juicing the leaves of the cannabis plant, patients are able to drink CBD in its pure, natural form, which has been proven to treat countless medical conditions. CBD has anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic, anti-depressant, anti-psychotic, anti-oxidant, sedative, and immunomodulatory properties, and has been shown to relieve convulsions, inflammation, anxiety, and nausea. It’s perhaps the most medicinal of all of the marijuana plant’s components, and it’s even been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth.
2. https://www.marijuanadoctors.com/blog/medical-marijuana/Juicing-Raw-Cannabis-Part-I
3. https://www.marijuanadoctors.com/blog/medical-marijuana/Juicing-Raw-Cannabis-Part-II-How-to-Juice-Raw-Cannabis
I hope they are on the path to a cure for this horrible disease.
Alzheimer’s is one of the most merciless diseases that effect the elderly and reduces them to ghosts after slowly stripping them of every human dignity. The saddest part is usually the victims of this dreadful disease are relatively healthy so they linger with this until some other deadly disease kicks in and finishes them off. It could take years of suffering before the patient dies.
It has tackled many people in my family, including my father, who died a couple of years ago. Besides taking medication, so far, the best thing for prevention is keeping your mind active and doing aerobic exercise... But they also say that it can be genetic, making people, including myself, real nervous about our future state of mind!
Business still prefers "Fulfillment Centers"
170 billion a year spent on it,
we will see a cure for this is about as likely as seeing a cure for cancer or aids.
As long as its profitable, there will be no cure
"Warehouse" would be a better term.
"imaging tools that can detect entorhinal cortex dysfunction will be particularly helpful"
Everyone knows that.
I’m positive it’s spreading like wildfire through the GOP
They were probably talking about assisted living and nursing home costs.
"experts estimate the disease costs the United States more than $170 billion annually to treat" ???
which is odd since there is no treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
this study is very important, and i hope that they will find a cure pretty soon. i’ve known several family members to develop this before passing away and all of them were elderly. it’s a very sad disease but intriguing disease.