Mobile phones could provide Alzheimer's cure
Mobile phones could provide Alzheimer's cure
Also In The News
|
By Adam Leveridge
The owners of Donington Park say they will have to spend £600,000 on restoring the Leistershire circuit back to its former glory after the deal to host the British grand prix in 2010 fell through. |  |
Thursday, 07, Jan 2010 11:43
By Alex Plough
A new study shows that long-term exposure to mobile phone radiation improves memory and prevents the effects of Alzheimer's in mice, leading to hopes of an effective treatment for the incurable disease.
Researchers from the University of South Florida in Tampa found that when young mice with an animal form of Alzheimer's disease were exposed to electromagnetic waves similar to those produced by a mobile phone, their memory was protected from the disease's symptoms.
The scientists were even more shocked to find that exposure reversed memory impairment in old Alzheimer's mice and even boosted the memory of non-demented mice to above normal levels.
"Our study provides evidence that long-term cell phone use is not harmful to brain," said Chuanhai Cao, one of the study's authors.
"To the contrary, the electromagnetic waves emitted by cell phones could actually improve normal memory and be an effective therapy against memory impairment."
The researchers showed that exposing old Alzheimer's mice to the electromagnetic waves generated by mobile phones erased brain deposits of the harmful protein beta-amyloid, in addition to preventing the protein's build-up in younger Alzheimer's mice.
Most treatments against Alzheimer's try to target beta-amyloid as the sticky 'brain plaque' formed by the abnormal build-up of the protein are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
The news could be life-changing for the estimated 700,000 people in Britain living with dementia as the researchers have concluded that electromagnetic field exposure could be an effective, non-invasive and drug-free way to prevent and treat the disease in humans.
Dr Cao continued: "If we can determine the best set of electromagnetic parameters to effectively prevent beta-amyloid aggregation and remove pre-existing beta amyloid deposits from the brain, this technology could be quickly translated to human benefit against Alzheimer's disease"
Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research for The Alzheimer's Society, said: "The research used advanced memory tests and the results are both exciting and quite convincing. However, this research in mice is at an early stage and a lot more work is needed before we can say anything about the possible preventative or treatment effects of this type of radiation on people with Alzheimer's disease."
She added: "This study could open new doors in Alzheimer's research but it also poses some interesting questions that need answers. However, dementia research is dramatically underfunded. The government currently spends eight times less on dementia research than cancer research. In order to make further scientific advances dementia needs to be given higher priority."