Memory

Age Related Memory Loss is reversible

A Major Cause of Age-Related Memory Loss Identified — Study points to possible treatments and confirms distinction between memory loss due to aging and that of Alzheimer’s – The researchers have identified a protein-RbAp48-that, when increased in aged wild-type mice, improves memory back to that of young wild-type mice. They have found that deficiency of a protein called RbAp48 in the hippocampus is a significant contributor to age-related memory loss and that this form of memory loss is reversible.

Regular long term exercise is good for sleep

Exercise is no quick cure for insomnia – Hitting the treadmill today won’t help you sleep tonight; it takes 4 months to kick in – Exercise is a common prescription for insomnia. But spending 45 minutes on the treadmill one day won’t translate into better sleep that night. “If you have insomnia you won’t exercise yourself into sleep right away,” said lead study author Kelly Glazer Baron, a clinical psychologist and director of the behavioral sleep program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Mentally stimulating activities boost brainpower in old age

Does being a bookworm boost your brainpower in old age? – New research suggests that reading books, writing and participating in brain-stimulating activities at any age may preserve memory. “Our study suggests that exercising your brain by taking part in activities such as these across a person’s lifetime, from childhood through old age, is important for brain health in old age,” said study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, with Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Stem cell transplant may restore memory

Stem cell transplant restores memory, learning in mice – A study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the first to show that human stem cells can successfully implant themselves in the brain and then heal neurological deficits, says senior author Su-Chun Zhang, a professor of neuroscience and neurology.

Propranolol may improve working memory in autism patients

Drug could improve working memory of people with autism, study finds – People with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) often have trouble communicating and interacting with others because they process language, facial expressions and social cues differently. Previously, researchers found that propranolol, a drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure, anxiety and panic, could improve the language abilities and social functioning of people with an ASD. Now, University of Missouri investigators say the prescription drug also could help improve the working memory abilities of individuals with autism.

U.S. dementia care costs going to rise

NIH-supported study finds U.S. dementia care costs as high as $215 billion in 2010 — Formal and unpaid dementia care costs are tallied – The costs of caring for people with dementia in the United States in 2010 were between $159 billion to $215 billion, and those costs could rise dramatically with the increase in the numbers of older people in coming decades, according to estimates by researchers at RAND Corp. and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Buphenyl a possible drug for Alzheimer’s disease

Rush scientists identify buphenyl as a possible drug for Alzheimer’s disease – Buphenyl, an FDA-approved medication for hyperammonemia, may protect memory and prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Hyperammonemia is a life-threatening condition that can affect patients at any age. It is caused by abnormal, high levels of ammonia in the blood.

Women have efficient brains with great inductive reasoning

Women are better at inductive reasoning: the ability to arrive at general principles from the study of detailed facts – Women may have smaller brains than men, but they are more efficient at completing a task. It has been a mystery for scientists and reasearchers why women show no difference in intelligence, although their brains are eight per cent smaller than men’s.

Prenatal intervention may reduce learning deficit in Down syndrome children

Prenatal intervention reduces learning deficit in mice — NIH study shows improvements in animals with Down syndrome characteristics – Mice with a condition that serves as a laboratory model for Down syndrome perform better on memory and learning tasks as adults if they were treated before birth with neuroprotective peptides, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health.

Multiple sclerosis – possible trigger for nerve damage

NIH-funded researchers show possible trigger for MS nerve damage — Results of study in mice may lead to new treatments – High-resolution real-time images show in mice how nerves may be damaged during the earliest stages of multiple sclerosis. The results suggest that the critical step happens when fibrinogen, a blood-clotting protein, leaks into the central nervous system and activates immune cells called microglia.

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