Researchers have shown for the first time that neural stem cells can rescue memory in mice with advanced Alzheimer’s disease, raising hopes of a potential treatment for the leading cause of elderly dementia that afflicts 5.3 million people in the U.S.

Dementia is a general term for a group of brain disorders that affect memory, judgment, personality and other mental functions. Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80 percent of cases. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s.

Modified Alzheimer’s mice performed markedly better on memory tests a month after mouse neural stem cells were injected into their brains. The stem cells secreted a protein that created more neural connections, improving cognitive function.

“Essentially, the cells were producing fertilizer for the brain,” said Frank LaFerla, co-author of the study.

Lead author Mathew Blurton-Jones and colleagues worked with older mice predisposed to develop brains lesions called plaques and tangles that are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.

To learn how the stem cells worked, the scientists examined the mouse brains. To their surprise, they discovered that just 6 percent of the stem cells had turned into neurons. (The majority became the other two main types of brain cells, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.) The stem cells didn’t improve cognition by becoming new neurons, nor did they act by reducing the number of plaques and tangles.

Rather, the stem cells were found to have secreted a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. This caused existing tissue to sprout new neurites, strengthening and increasing the number of connections between neurons. When the team selectively reduced BDNF from the stem cells, the benefit was lost, providing strong evidence that BDNF is critical to the effect of stem cells on memory and neuronal function.

“If you look at Alzheimer’s, it’s not the plaques and tangles that correlate best with dementia; it’s the loss of synapses, connections between neurons,” Blurton-Jones said. “The neural stem cells were helping the brain form new synapses and nursing the injured neurons back to health.”

Diseased mice injected directly with BDNF also improved cognitively but not as much as with the neural stem cells, which provided a more long-term and consistent supply of the protein.

“This gives us a lot of hope that stem cells or a product from them, such as BDNF, will be a useful treatment for Alzheimer’s,” LaFerla said.

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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

Education may provide mental reserves that help to keep the brain agile into old age. Those are the findings of a new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Other studies have shown similar correlations between years of education and risk of Alzheimer’s disease. But the current study suggested that even those individuals whose brains appeared “scarred” by Alzheimer’s could still be cognitively normal, especially if they had received more years of formal education.

The researchers found that seniors with the most years of formal education scored higher on tests of memory, learning and thinking compared to those who spent the least time in school. In fact, many of the highly educated individuals who did well on the memory tests were shown by imaging tests to have the same kind of damage seen in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s disease. The findings were published in the Archives of Neurology, one of the medical journals from the American Medical Association.

Read the rest of this article to learn more about what the study showed: Cognitive Reserve Theory

Many people complain of memory lapses, but there is a difference between Alzheimer’s disease and forgetting where you left your keys. Absent-mindedness should not be confused with Alzheimer’s. If you are experiencing any of the 10 warning signs below, schedule an appointment with your doctor.

• Memory loss
• Difficulty performing familiar tasks
• Problems with language
• Disorientation to time and place
• Poor or decreased judgment
• Problems with abstract thinking
• Misplacing things
• Changes in mood or behavior
• Changes in personality
• Loss of initiative.

Source: The Alzheimer’s Association

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), one form of dementia, is a progressive, degenerative brain disease. It affects memory, thinking, and behavior.

Memory impairment is a necessary feature for the diagnosis of this or any type of dementia. Change in one of the following areas must also be present: language, decision-making ability, judgment, attention, and other areas of mental function and personality.

The rate of progression is different for each person. If AD develops rapidly, it is likely to continue to progress rapidly. If it has been slow to progress, it will likely continue on a slow course.

Read the rest  Alzheimer’s Disease to learn about the causes, symptoms, treatments, tests, and complications that are associated with this illness. The more you know, the better off you are.