Wednesday, April 20, 2022

ENCOURAGING RESULTS IN RESEARCH ON MEMORY LOSS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS MEDICAL BRANCH IN GALVESTON

Blood transfer for better memory is on the horizon 
 
By Drs. Norbert Herzog and David Niesel
 
Galveston County Daily News
April 20, 2022
 


Biomedical scientists at UTMB's Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases are studying blood transfers to restore memory

 

We all know the benefits of regular exercise in advancing and maintaining our health. At my house, we keep track of our daily step count. There are well documented positive effects to your circulatory and respiratory systems with regular exercise. I’m sure you’ve heard this from your primary care doctor too. Recent studies also show that more frequent cardiovascular exercise enhances your mental health.

A recent Swedish study of more than 36,000 people with an average age of 41 revealed that those doing regular exercise had fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. Other studies have shown that exercise leads to the production of new brain cells, improves learning and memory and reduces inflammation in the brain. Inflammation is thought to be a key element of dementia.

What is it in the transferred plasma that produces these beneficial effects? The scientists found four proteins that influence inflammation or immunity in the plasma of the exercising animals. They tested each of the four proteins by eliminating them one at a time. A protein called clusterin was found to be highly associated with the anti-inflammation effects. It may not be quite that simple though, because there are as many as nine other molecules that could be involved. This is still promising. It’s easy to imagine a series of future pharmaceuticals aimed at improving memory and brain function arising from this work.

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