Here is a discovery that will give some hope to patients withAlzheimer’s and their loved ones.
Scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge (USA) have succeeded in showing, thanks to a study published in the journal Nature that in Alzheimer’s disease, the memories have not been erased, but are in inaccessible areas.
Alzheimer’s: blue light to stimulate memories
To reach this conclusion, they carried out experiments on healthy mice and on other genetically modified ones. Both groups received electric shocks twice, 24 hours apart.
Reaction of the mice: the healthy ones expressed their panic while the modified ones remained indifferent. The researchers then tried in mutant rodents to stimulate the area of the brainassociated with memories using blue light (a technique called optogenetics).
Alzheimer’s: a hope for treatment
“Since memory in humans and mice tends to operate on a similar principle, our finding suggests that patients with this disease, at least in the early stages of development, may also retain memories in their brains. , which offers hope for a cure,” said Susumu Tonegawa, director of the Riken-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics.
There is no treatment background or prevention to treat or avoid the Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease affects more than 850,000 people in France. 1,275,000 people could be affected by 2020, according to France Alzheimer.
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