Researchers are unsure exactly what causes Alzheimer's, a creeping brain degeneration that affects an estimated 4.5 million Americans and is on the rise as the population ages; however, tests on mice suggest the brain damage caused by the disease may be at least partially reversible.

In fact, the genetically engineered mice in the study regained the ability to navigate mazes after the genes that caused their dementia were de-activated, which suggests the brain damage caused by Alzheimer's is not permanent.

Understanding Alzheimer's

Visible symptoms of Alzheimer's begin with memory loss, which escalates to complete helplessness as brain cells are destroyed.

In the brain, neurons die as messy plaques and tangles of protein form. Research has shown that the mutant protein tau--an unhealthy form of a brain compound linked to Alzheimer's--is responsible for poisoning brain cells and that blocking its production may allow some of those sick neurons to recover.

With this in mind, researchers engineered the mice to develop the mutant tau protein to see if the tangles themselves are a cause or a symptom of Alzheimer's. As projected:

• The mice developed dementia and suffered from brain atrophy similar to human Alzheimer's.

• When the engineered gene was turned off, however, memory loss stopped and the mice improved.

More importantly, the results showed that the tangles of brain cells were not toxic to surrounding brain tissue, indicating it's not the tangles themselves responsible for killing brain cells, but rather the mutant tau.

While it is a long journey from treating a mouse to treating a human, researchers are not ruling out the possibility of successfully stopping the mutant proteins in humans.

Reuters July 14, 2005

Science July 15, 2005;309(5733):476-81

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Alzheimer's currently affects an estimated 4.5 million people in the United States alone and millions more globally. As the population ages, experts estimate this number will balloon to as many as 16 million by 2015 in the United States. Your mind is one of the most precious resources that you have. Wouldn't you just hate to lose it? If you did lose your mind, it wouldn't matter much to you as you would not know it, but your family certainly would. It would be tragic for them to lose you as a loved family member. It certainly is reassuring to find modern science confirming that this devastating disease is reversible. It is my belief that nearly all disease is reversible if you catch it early on. The longer you have it, the more damage that occurs and the more difficult it is to reverse. I view Alzheimer's disease very similarly to heart disease and cancer. They are all chronic degenerative diseases that are very amenable to prevention and modification by simple lifestyle adjustments such as: Getting proper rest Regular exercise Proper fresh air and sun exposure Avoiding toxins Eating healthy foods Avoiding toxic trans fats Keeping your insulin and leptin levels optimized by limiting carbs to "slow carbs" You might also want to review my previous article, How to Easily and Inexpensively Blow Away Alzheimer's Disease, for more information. My book, Total Health, goes into far more detail on these keys to avoiding nearly every chronic disease or health challenge. More and more people are starting to appreciate this and are turning away from the fatally flawed conventional paradigm. Related Articles: Curry Ingredient Helps Treat Alzheimer's No "Magic Pill" for Alzheimer's Worry Accelerates Your Risk of Alzheimer's