Researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory conducted learning and memory tasks using transgenic mice that were induced to lose a significant number of brain cells. Following Alzheimer’s-like brain atrophy, the mice acted as though they did not remember tasks they had previously learned.  But after taking HDAC inhibitors, the mice regained their long-term memories and ability to learn new tasks. In addition, mice genetically engineered to produce no HDAC2 at all exhibited enhanced memory formation.

The fact that long-term memories can be recovered by elevated histone acetylation supports the idea that apparent memory “loss” is really a reflection of inaccessible memories, Tsai said. “These findings are in line with a phenomenon known as ‘fluctuating memories,’ in which demented patients experience temporary periods of apparent clarity,” she said.

A team led by researchers at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory has now pinpointed the exact gene responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease regained long-term memories and the ability to learn. In the latest development, reported in the May 7 issue of Nature, Li-Huei Tsai, Picower Professor of Neuroscience, and colleagues found that drugs that work on the gene HDAC2 reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s and boost cognitive function in mice.

Original article here

Alzheimer’s disease is a 100-year-old myth that’s over the hill. So says Dr. Peter Whitehouse, a geriatric neurologist and author of “The Myth of Alzheimer’s: What You Aren’t Being Told About Today’s Most Dreaded Diagnosis.”

Whitehouse, who played an important role in brain research that led to the first four medications designed to treat Alzheimer’s, has replaced the term “Alzheimer’s disease” with “severe brain aging.” That distinction, he says, makes all the difference. He says we need to stop throwing money at searching for a cure to what he calls “age-associated cognitive challenges.” Instead of medication, the focus should be on preventing brain aging through simple strategies such as exercise, reading and eating right, he says.

We talked with Whitehouse ahead of his visit to the Twin Cities this week.

The interview with Dr. Whitehouse can be viewed at the following link: Brain Aging

People who have lost brain cells in the hippocampus area of the brain are more likely to develop dementia, researchers report. The findings add to a growing body of evidence that shrinkage of the brain, particularly in the hippocampal area, may be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, occurring years before obvious memory loss and other symptoms appear.

The study, from researchers in the Netherlands, appeared in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. It involved 64 people with Alzheimer’s disease, 44 people with mild cognitive impairment, a less severe form of memory loss that sometimes precedes Alzheimer’s disease, and 34 people with no memory or thinking problems.

Read the rest of this article by clicking the following link: Hippocampus and Alzheimer’s

“We have to realize that the era of the magic bullet—drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease—is over. We need to take a holistic approach, like they do for heart disease. What works for the heart, works for the head.” — Dr. Khalsa, ca. 1994

Recent research confirms what we have known for some time now: magic bullet drugs are not the final answer in fighting Alzheimer’s. The only effective way to prevent or even slow Alzheimer’s at this time in history is by harnessing the power of a holistic or integrative medical approach.

By understanding the key elements of prevention – its pillars, as it were – you can better protect and care for yourself and your loved ones who are struggling with this disease.

Read about the 4 pillars of prevention here: Alzheimer’s Prevention