Good Morning All,
Thought the following message may be of some use.
file:///C|/windows/temp/nscomm40/tmp/tmp1/edt1.htm
God Bless You All,
marty auslander
Although no one looks
forward to getting older—with concomitant skin sagging, eyes drooping,
shoulders hunching, or chins doubling—our worst aging fear is "losing our
marbles." With the incidence of Alzheimer's disease increasing, this concern
is well founded. We know that the paradigm applies to brain cells, but
now we have even more proof that a stimulating environment can protect
against brain cell death, especially the kind that commonly accompanies
aging. An experiment with test animals (rats) showed that those housed
in an exciting or enriched environment were almost completely protected
when exposed to a seizure-promoting toxic agent. Autopsy confirmed that
the actual brain cells in the hippocampus region of the brain were protected
from destruction in these animals. (The hippocampus is the portion of the
brain essential for initial storing of long-term memory.)
The "enriched" environment
for the test animal included running wheels, tunnels, balls, and choices
of food. No, that doesn't mean we should head for the nearest amusement
park to stave off brain cell death. For us, this research translates to
learning experiences— attending classes, learning to play bridge—any activity
that stimulates our brain cells (Nature Medicine 1999; 5:448-453).
Accumulating evidence shows that hippocampal disruption is an early feature
of Alzheimer's disease. (Journal of the American Medical Association
1999; 281:1401-1406)
