Have you ever been curious why some people are able to keep their memory sharp without much effort, where the rest of us have to do all we can to ensure that we keep our cognitive abilities from declining? A new study presented by Changiz Geula, PhD, (principal investigator of the Northwestern University Super Aging Project and a professor of neuroscience at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center) last week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Neuroscience suggested that tangles are to blame.
Although brain researchers are hard at work trying to unravel the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease the exact causes are still not well understood. However, current research points to brain plaques and tangles. While research had already identified tangles as a cause of Alzheimer’s, Geula’s new research provides the first link between tangles and cognition in the healthy aging population.
There are proteins in the brain (called Tau Proteins) that help neurons communicate with one another and help transport nutrients and waste in the brain. As we get older these proteins get fiber-like “tangles” and there is a correlation between the amount of tangles in one’s brain and the level of cognitive decline one suffers.
Geula’s study further found that some lucky individuals are immune to these tangles. Guela stated, “We always assumed that the accumulation of tangles is a progressive phenomenon throughout the normal aging process. Healthy people develop moderate numbers of tangles, with the most severe cases linked to Alzheimer’s disease. But now we have evidence that some individuals are immune to tangle formation. The evidence also supports the notion that the presence of tangles may influence cognitive performance.”
This is important because it gets researchers closer to the root causes of Alzheimer’s. For the majority of us that will accumulate brain tangles as we age, the best way to build up a cognitive reserve to counteract the effect of brain tangles is to eat healthy, exercise regularly, and engage in brain exercises. It is the message that I promote in almost every one of my posts, but keeping yourself mentally sharp is just that important.
6 Comments
At this point we should have some evidence of what effects nutrition, exercise, and cognitive enrichment will have on the Tau proteins in the aging neocortex. The Nun Study provides hope that cognitive reserves provide a buffering effect against the tangles. Also shouldn’t we hold out hope that stem cell research will provide us a possible medical intervention that can disrupt tangle formation?
Dear Doctor,
I am trying to recover from a physical assault that injured my brain in 1998 causing me to suffer through a coma. The legal system will not allow me legal remedy for any assault endured because I am a homeless Vietnam Era Veteran male. I have loss of dictionary skills, short term memory loss, and math skills. I need help from someone I can trust outside of the Kansas City Area and the State of Missouri / Kansas. I will not trust anyone in this area. And recommend nobody trust this state and/or metropolitian area either.
I want to know how to remember by short time?
Hi Shaiful, can you restate your question?
I am sorry to hear of your brain injury and the resulting cognitive loss. You may find some appropriate resources via the National Brain injury Association: http://www.biausa.org. Each state has a respective Brian Injury Association also.
Thanks for your comments. Yes we should remain hopeful. The key is to support ALL research efforts to pinpoint the influences of brain decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.