Imagine a world without Alzheimer’s
Our brains are so precious to us and yet we still know so little about them. I am truly in awe when I think – using my brain – about this wonderful organ but researchers at Hebrew U don’t let any awestruck feelings get in the way of forging ahead to try to understand the brain and find ways to prevent or cure disease.
Alzheimer’s is probably one of the most heart-breaking diseases. Anyone who has seen the affects of Alzheimer’s knows that research on this disease is extremely important for people affected directly or indirectly by it all over the world.
So, ever hear of Tau tangles? This is when certain proteins in the brain get “tangled” or folded. This is not good and has been found to be closely associated with Alzheimer’s symptoms. Recently, a bunch of researchers, including Hanna Rosenmann, Ph.D., head of the Laboratory of Molecular Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology, Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem, and an investigator (Associate-Senior Lecturer) at the Hebrew University Hadassah School of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel, did research whereby they attempted to immunize mice against the tangling.
The result? They found a major reduction in tangles without any evidence of inflammation in the brain from the therapy. The latter fact being important since other scientists had to stop their research in immunotherapy in the past because 6% of (human) participants developed brain inflammation. The chemical that these Israeli scientists are using is a different one and so far seems to be showing much better results!
Hopefully one day Alzheimer’s can enter the history book of diseases and our children can say to us when we’re 90 years old, “Mom, what was it like living in a world with Alzheimer’s?”
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Thanks for sharing! it is good to encourage people to comment, not just reading. The only reason I writing blog rather than diary is because of the feedback.