Post by nicole on May 9, 2009 23:44:12 GMT -5
Researchers have pinpointed a gene said to be responsible for a 2007 breakthrough in which mice with an Alzheimer’s disease-like condition regained lost memories and learning abilities.
In the new research, reported in the May 7 issue of the scientific journal Nature, Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientist Li-Huei Tsai and colleagues found that drugs that work on the gene HDAC2 reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s and boost cognitive function in mice.
Researchers said the findings serve as evidence that memories lost to Alzheimer’s and related conditions may not be gone for good. Rather, they could have gotten stuck deep in the brain waiting for the proper medicines to help dislodge them.
In the new research, reported in the May 7 issue of the scientific journal Nature, Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientist Li-Huei Tsai and colleagues found that drugs that work on the gene HDAC2 reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s and boost cognitive function in mice.
Researchers said the findings serve as evidence that memories lost to Alzheimer’s and related conditions may not be gone for good. Rather, they could have gotten stuck deep in the brain waiting for the proper medicines to help dislodge them.
Continue reading........... www.world-science.net/othernews/090507_alzheimer
