Clues to Alzheimer’s and a Longer “Healthspan”

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego believe that the beta amyloid plaque clumps which characterize Alzheimer's develop slowly and can be prevented by anti-aging therapies. The result would be a longer healthy lifespan or “healthspan”.

Age is the major risk factor for Alzheimer’s. The older you get, the greater your chances of exhibiting symptoms.

According to the author of the study, Dr. Ehud Cohen, “we went directly to the root cause of Alzheimer's disease and asked whether we could influence the onset of the disease by modulating the aging process.”

By inhibiting the production of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) in mice, researchers found that they could extend the “healthspan” of mice which had been genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s. Not only did the mice remain Alzheimer’s-free, but they remained biologically young into old age and lived 35 percent longer than the control mice.

Read the Salk Institute Press Release here. The findings were published in the Dec. 11, 2009 issue of the journal “Cell”.

This is very promising research but is a long way off from being applied to humans. Further the resultant therapies would likely involve hormones. As we know, hormone treatments have their pluses and minuses.

Come back tomorrow for more about some Alzheimer’s research results that we can employ today to protect our mental functions.

Tags: Alzheimer’s research, longer healthspan, anti-aging therapies, healthy lifespan, protect your brain, antioxidants, brain food, electromagnetic waves