Brain Science:
104 Year old Sister Matthia remained quick witted and sharp until right before her death. As a participant in a landmark Nun study, sister was one of 678 nuns at convents across the US who volunteered to help in a study of aging and Alzheimers’s disease.They agreed to complete a regular battery of cognitive and physical assessments, and also donate their brains to the research. The study was over almost 30 years and in 3 universities.
This study revealed some important lessons about healthy aging, including why some people. Like sister Matthias, are resilient to Azheimer’s disease even though their brains displayed the telltale signs.
The first finding was a dynamic finding that damage to the blood vessels supplying the brain could compound the damage wrought by Azheimers. This was significant because most all research was on the issue of amyloid plaque and disrupted tau. Now research is shifting to looking at vascular issues as early triggers of Alzheimer's .
The second major finding was that some nuns showed significant Alzheimer's related brain damage but yet showed no effect on their cognitive abilities. Research related to the individuals
noted that these nuns displayed exceptional brain artery ( vascular) health. Meaning the probability that healthy blood vessels surrounding the brain appear to actually offset the effects of Alzheimer's. Which has caused scientists to look at more closely at the remarkable web of blood vesels nourishing the brain.
Charged with the delivering of oxygen and nuettrients, a web of vessesls covers the brian. They maintain cerebral blood flow despite dips and surges in blood pressure.They sense changes in brain activity, rerouting blood flow to where it is needed most. This remarkable trait actually helps the brain rewire itself!!
Brain Facts:
•Unlike other any other blood vessels, those surrounding the brain are packed tighter together, sealing off the brain from toxins and pathogens.
•A mere 2% of body mass, the human brain guzzles 20% of the body's energy supply.
So What:
This research has the potential to dramatically change our approach to brain health. Why? Because vascular issues can be stabilized and even reversed. A good friend of mine a few years ago had a series of severe debilitating strokes. Immediately after the stroke he could not speak, walk or hardly move. Six to 12 months later you could not notice a speech issue and he could walk fine. He wasn't completely restored but he did resume his duties as a volunteer deputy in Walton county . His stroke was a vascular issue, demonstrating that vascular issues can be repaired. We know also strokes can be prevented. (Good brain health is an effective strategy. We will get into that a little deeper as we move on with these texts.)There is a hope that by preventing strokes we can prevent dementia.
This type of research study has opened up a new world of treatment and therapy for cognitive decline. Rehabilitation therapies are being developed that could be used to strengthen brain blood vessels. In addition, genetics are being researched toward possible gene therapy alterations that mimic brain blood vessels that look more like those of people who display no cognitive disruption yet have the markers of Alzheimer's.
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