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Hibernation Protein May Halt Alzheimer's

Posted by timothy on from the all-ideas-welcome dept.

BarbaraHudson writes The BBC is reporting that tests show a protein called RBM3, involved in hibernation, may hold the key to regenerating synapses. In the early stages of Alzheimer's, and other neurodegenerative disorders, synapses are lost. This inevitably progresses to whole brain cells dying. But during hibernation, 20-30% of the connections in the brain — synapses — are culled as the body preserves resources over winter, and are reformed in the spring, with no loss of memory. Memories can be restored after hibernation as only the receiving end of the synapse shuts down. In a further set of tests, the team showed the brain cell deaths from prion disease and Alzheimer's could be prevented by artificially boosting RBM3 levels. Prof Mallucci was asked if memories could be restored in people if their synapses could be restored: "Absolutely, because a lot of memory decline is correlated with synapse loss, which is the early stage of dementia, so you might get back some of the synapse you've lost."

Further reading: here, here, and here"

79 comments

  1. Exciting! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Could this be the last hurdle for successful cryostasis?

    My wife works with people that have Alzheimer's and dementia. What a terrible way to go.

    1. Re:Exciting! by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Interesting

      My wife works with people that have Alzheimer's and dementia. What a terrible way to go.

      It's one of the reasons we legalized assisted suicide here (and probably elsewhere in the world). Nobody wants to end up that way. Maybe this will be a second option.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    2. Re:Exciting! by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 1

      i hope not. i can't imagine anybody choosing suicide over this. (IF this ever moves beyond the usual "lab rats regain memory" stage)

    3. Re:Exciting! by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Interesting

      i hope not. i can't imagine anybody choosing suicide over this. (IF this ever moves beyond the usual "lab rats regain memory" stage)

      I've already told everyone that if that happens, take me "out behind the barn and shoot me, and donate my body to science." What makes me me is my mind, not my arms, legs, heart, liver, or kidneys. When that's gone, the rest is just meat anyway, so might as well not consume further resources, and put people through the hassle of feeling guilty because they didn't visit "me" (even though nobody's home any more) often enough.I do NOT want to put that burden on my kids.

      I keep my dogs until they can no longer live a quality life, then I take them to the vet and stay with them while they're killed. Doing otherwise (keeping a dog when it's terminally ill and suffering) would probably (and rightfully) get me investigated for cruelty. I think people have at least as much of a right to a life with some quality of life, and when that's no longer possible, help them end it. Apparently so do enough others to convince lawmakers to pass right to die legislation.

      So hopefully this research will pay off and it won't come to that, but if it does, I'm going to pull the plug while I still can.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  2. baseless speculation and hype by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Given that humans do not, in fact, hibernate, there is little reason to think the mechanism present in the test species is identical and fully intact in humans. Furthermore, for all we know, the loss of hibernation ability is a necessary enabler of human-scale intellegence, and recovery of hibernation could cause retardation or something.

    1. Re:baseless speculation and hype by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

      Because Alzheimer's doesn't cause "retardation".

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:baseless speculation and hype by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You've been taking RBM3, haven't you?

    3. Re:baseless speculation and hype by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're right, it doesn't.

    4. Re:baseless speculation and hype by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 5, Informative

      Because Alzheimer's doesn't cause "retardation".

      Obviously I couldn't put everything in the summary (I provided 4 links) A few points: First, the same protection was observed with higher levels or RBM3 in mice that didn't undergo induced hibernation as with those who underwent induced hibernation:

      In the grand finale set of experiments, the researchers bypassed cooling and injected lentiviruses expressing RBM3 directly into the hippocampi of mice early in prion disease. They achieved a threefold overexpression of RBM3 that afforded the mice the same synaptic, behavioral, and survival benefits that early cooling had, and rescued flagging protein synthesis observed in neurons nine weeks post-infection. Boosting RBM3 expression also allowed synapses in both neurodegenerative disease models to recover completely after cooling. Conversely, knocking down expression of RBM3 accelerated disease progression in the prion model, and hastened synapse loss in both models. Synapses and memory even took a hit in normal mice deprived of RBM3 expression, as they lost synapses and did not recognize novel objects as well as control mice. This suggested that the cold-shock protein may play an important physiological role in normal synapse upkeep.

      Mallucci hypothesized that RBM3 promotes synaptic plasticity and staves off neurodegeneration by raising levels of protein synthesis in dendrites. “Synapses are so dependent on their key synaptic proteins for assembly and function,” said Mallucci. Because synapses often reside distant from the cell body, local translation at the dendrite is important to ensure a ready supply of such proteins and thus facilitate synaptic recovery, she added.

      So we know that RBM3 protects regardless of whether it was produced by hibernation or artificial elevation of just the protein RBM3.

      Second we already know cooling of the brain in humans is also protective:

      A state of hypothermia is known to protect the brain. People have been survived for hours after a cardiac arrest without brain damage after falling into icy water. Similiarly, cooling the brains of babies that have suffered a loss of oxygen at birth is also used to protect against brain damage.

      "We’ve known for some time that cooling can slow down or even prevent damage to brain cells, but reducing body temperature is rarely feasible in practice: it’s unpleasant and involves risks such as pneumonia and blood clots," said Professor Giovanna Mallucci, who led the research team, at the Medical Research Councils Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester. "But, by identifying how cooling activates a process that prevents the loss of brain cells, we can now work towards finding a means to develop drugs that might mimic the protective effects of cold on the brain."

      So there is reason to think that the same mechanism might work in other mammals, and not just those who hibernate. We'll only know when human trials commence, but considering what's at stake, there will be literally millions volunteering to be test subjects.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  3. Use it or lose it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I expect we'll be hearing more about video game fitness and therapy for senior citizens. Not necessarily FPS type games, but perhaps light strategy games, possibly with a kinesthetic component.

  4. But but buit.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I don't want those memories back. Just want my brain to work right. I spent many dollars buying booze to forget; why would I wast that money!

  5. Don't wake hibernating bears by reboot246 · · Score: 4, Funny

    They may be up to 30% out of their mind.

    1. Re:Don't wake hibernating bears by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      spoon them instead

  6. Now this is good news... by Feral+Nerd · · Score: 1

    ... nuff said.

  7. Memory by Udom · · Score: 0

    All memory is re-creation and only kernels of information are stored. That is why it's so easy to plant false memories... one doesn't change a memory, one subverts the re-creation... Memories are tagged with importance values when saved and unimportant memories lose significance and get cycled out, so the cause of memory loss is less likely to be brain damage and more likely to be flagging interest. Older women often obsess about their grandchildren and lose track of everything else. Older men no longer have work to organise themselves around and stop caring about the world around them. In both the patient simply loses interest. Lost interest means lost memory kernels... All brain research into memory loss is valuable, but the focus purely on physical causes is misguided.

    1. Re:Memory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Your thesis breaks down when it comes to early-onset alzheimers, which behaves the same as standard alzheimers.

    2. Re:Memory by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

      If only that were true - then we could just find ways to get them interest in life again. However, dementia affects people in their 30s and 40s, not just "old people" who have stopped working or have grandkids. Also, we don't know what the human brain's memory capacity is, but we know we're far from "filling it up" at 30, and probably at 100 as well. Just the disease interferes with the replacement of dead synapses, so you lose memory capacity as well as the memories themselves.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    3. Re:Memory by Udom · · Score: 1

      Not at all. Of course damage to brain tissue can cause memory loss. But ascribing all memory loss to brain damage is simplistic and stems from an archaic concept of what memory is and how it works. Also, the belief that there is a single process involved that we can label Alzheimers and be done is unworthy of science... At best the term might be used as a rough container for a collection of symptoms.

    4. Re:Memory by Prune · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Memories are, indeed, tagged with an importance value — the value is represented in the brain as a feeling/emotion. This modulates the strength of the long term encoding of the memory. But unimportant memories don't get "cycled out" as you say. Memories are not stored independently of each other and room for new ones recovered by some mechanism that frees up storage space. Forgetting is caused by a combination of interference from the storage of new memories and decay (two processes proposed independently but with evidence for both). This very much makes sense when considering that memories are stored through synaptic plasticity in the same neural network, which, upon triggering by the right stimulus for recall, recreates an activation pattern in other parts of the brain, including the consciously accessible image-making ones (one proposal for how the latter is accomplished, with some neurological evidence for it, is http://www.cell.com/trends/neu... ).

      --
      "Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason."
    5. Re:Memory by Udom · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "Disease" is an unfortunate label because it implies a pathogen and there is none for Alzheimers. The term "Alzheimers" is simply a convenient catch-all term for a class of symptoms. One reason memory doesn't "fill up" is that unimportant memories are routinely deleted. Most of us don't remember the names of all of our Grade 1 classmates, for example. So the best place to look for causes is whatever is considered important for the sufferer. For (most) women the most important connection in life is children and grandchildren. Yet we push the elderly off into isolation and offer them daytime TV as a substitute. For them, it's isolation from family that causes their descent. To assume that this situation can be addressed with a wonder drug is incredibly foolish... I read of a young missionary girl who went off to Africa to teach children. After introductions she asked if anyone had any questions. One girl asked, "Is it true that in your country you send old people off to live alone?"

    6. Re:Memory by Udom · · Score: 0

      One minor quibble, "recreates an activation pattern" suggests that the activation pattern is stable. It's clear that the activation pattern is quite vague and subject to corruption, which is why memories can be off on some points, and also explains false memories encouraged by police or therapists.

    7. Re:Memory by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I think you have cause and effect reversed - mostly people (of all ages) are put in homes because they already require 24-hour supervision and care. If they can't get dressed, go to the bathroom, make their own food, know approximately what time of day, day of the week, and month of the year, and they show increasing bouts of rage, they're a danger to both themselves and those around them. Try taking care of someone and having them accuse you of all sorts of ridiculous stuff, like stealing stuff that a quick search shows they misplaced, or taking a harmless remark or action and twisting it around when they retell it to the whole family. Taking care of someone by yourself under those conditions is hazardous just from a legal perspective.

      Also, I would question whether "unimportant memories are routinely deleted." How many times have you forgotten things like passwords, birthdays, where you left your smartphone, wallet, purse, or keys, your own phone number, and yet can clearly recall the punchline of really stupid jokes?

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    8. Re:Memory by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      There are various 'kinds' of memories.
      Parts are 'constructed' as synaptic connections, this happens especially with physical abilities, like playing a gittar or doing sports.
      Others, like mere facts, are stored as RNA ... I guess there are things in between that are stored as a combination of both.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    9. Re:Memory by Udom · · Score: 0

      Often the elderly are put in homes because their relatives want their money, and distress at being stripped of their freedom and rights is considered proof that they need to be confined. If they've been abandoned by those they care most about and condescended to by all and sundry, they may well exhibit rage. Essentially, we condemn them to solitary confinement.. And... for most people, contact with family is more important that where you left your keys. Women tend to define themselves by family ties, men by their jobs. Take those away, put them in what amounts to concentration camps, force them to take drugs... and they are nothing.

    10. Re:Memory by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      "Disease" is an unfortunate label because it implies a pathogen and there is none for Alzheimers."

      Hate to reply twice, but "disease" covers much more than illnesses caused by pathogens. The various forms of diabetes, for one. Osteoarthritis, glaucoma, cataracts ...

      Q. "Definition of disease"
      A.. disease
      noun
      a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific signs or symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    11. Re:Memory by Udom · · Score: 0

      Hmm. I did say "implies". Valid point, but it's kind of a loose definition. One could say membership in the Tea Party indicates a disorder in function that produces specific signs or symptoms. I was cautioning against the habit we have of plugging in a label to explain complex phenomena. In this case pronouncing the word "disease" is a slack way of dismissing the symptoms of dementia without any futher thought. Humans have a history of such rough sorting, using it as justification for all sorts of monstrous human rights abuses.

    12. Re:Memory by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Often the elderly are put in homes because their relatives want their money, and distress at being stripped of their freedom and rights is considered proof that they need to be confined.

      And for those who are put in homes who have no money or property of their own in the first place? And the millions of seniors below the poverty line? And the ones who have some money, but not enough to pay for living in a home, so others have to make up the difference? They're certainly not put in homes for their money.

      Sometimes it's the only safe thing to do. They have better access to doctors, they have nurses on staff 24/7, and if they cannot take care of themselves, what other option is there? None, really. As for forcing them to take drugs, the big problem is to get them to take their meds on schedule - they will insist they already had them or don't need them. Many can't be trusted to manage diseases like diabetes, nor should they be left alone to cope with hypoglycemic/hyperglycemic events.

      contact with family is more important that (sic) where you left your keys.

      That was not what I wrote. You claimed that less important stuff is lost from memory while more important stuff is preserved:

      unimportant memories lose significance and get cycled out

      I gave counter-examples, such as remembering where you put your smartphone 15 minutes ago is more important than remembering a stupid joke (watch someone go into panic mode when they can't find their phone), and yet we easily recall stuff that is just not important such as the stupid joke, but not the smartphone, which is more important to the person.

      Your attempt to move the goalposts by repositioning the question as "for most people, contact with family is more important that where you left your keys." has zero - nothing whatsoever - to do with my original point.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    13. Re:Memory by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 3, Insightful

      In this case pronouncing the word "disease" is a slack way of dismissing the symptoms of dementia without any futher (sic) thought.

      Most people who call dementia a disease do not dismiss the symptoms, especially considering the huge impact those symptoms have on both the patient and those around them.

      Also, when you wrote "One girl asked, "Is it true that in your country you send old people off to live alone?", you didn't take into account that the average lifespan in many parts of Africa the life expectancy is below 50, and in some parts (Sierra Leone) it's below 40. The average - a puny 52 years. So when that little girl asked her question, she wasn't referring to "old people", but middle-aged people at best. She probably hasn't even seen an old person with dementia.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    14. Re:Memory by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Which is why if you train for it, it is not hard to lie your ass off in a polygraph and pass it with flying colors.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    15. Re:Memory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You obviously dont know crap. It costs a SHIT-LOAD to put someone in a nursing home. Far more money than can be gained by raiding grandma's savings and land. Because the monthly cost is based on the persons wealth.

      Gonna steal grannies $22,000,000 real estate? not gonna work as the state and the home will get it first.

    16. Re:Memory by germansausage · · Score: 3, Informative

      Very emotional post. Sorry to bring logic into it. Care homes cost a lot of money. $3 - 5 k a month isn't unusual for basic nursing care. If I wanted my relatives money, the very last thing I would do is put them in a home, where they might live another 5 years and burn through every dime they have.

    17. Re:Memory by sjames · · Score: 1

      Actually, that's a common mis-interpretation. The average lifespan is low mostly due to infant mortality. Same deal for the west during the middle ages.

      In general, I agree with you here. Alzheimers is not manageable outside of a nursing home for long. It may not be as big of a problem in Africa due to the likelihood of accidental death once dementia begins.

    18. Re:Memory by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

      AIDS is a significant lifespan factor in some countries as well.

      In Africa (and previously everywhere), people tend to live in large extended families where there's plenty of people around to share the responsibility of taking care of the old and their dementia. Plus of course they have no money to involve a doctor.

      --
      This space intentionally left blank
    19. Re:Memory by wildstoo · · Score: 1

      It's crystal clear you've never had to care for (or even had contact with) someone with severe dementia, so please refrain from voicing your myopic and ignorant opinion.

    20. Re:Memory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're watching too many movies. Memories aren't stored as RNA. RNA is used for protein expression.

    21. Re:Memory by Udom · · Score: 1

      Many families opt for a warehouse with minimal care, then they never come to see Mum again. And through Power of Attorney the money gets siphoned off leaving nothing to pay the bills. Being sent to a home is like being sent to a Psychiatric hospital, you're locked in, have no rights at all and are pumped so full of drugs you never complain again. I've seen all this happen to friends. Care on any level is big business and the only goal is to siphon off as much money as they can. Most people sent to homes have simply become too weak to defend themselves against their family's greed. You think you're a citizen and protected by the Bill of Rights? Wait til you turn 70.

    22. Re:Memory by non0score · · Score: 1

      I have more trouble recalling than remembering -- most of the time, I can recall "forgotten" events if someone provides context (as in, I haven't actually forgotten them). That or maybe my brain is making shit up.

    23. Re: Memory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alzheimer's disease is a physical phenomenon. My grandmother had it. Far from being "sent off to live alone", she moved In with my family when I was a child, and continued to live with all of us for years. There was still one child at home (the youngest) when she began to show early symptoms of the disease. It progressed steadily in spite of the fact that family was all around, visiting frequently, and that she had many friends and neighbors and relationships. That said, isolation certainly doesn't help, because being around friends and family provides reasons for engagement with the outside world, and I do believe it can delay the worsening of symptoms. But to say that Alzheimer's is flat-out caused by isolation is not only untrue, it causes unnecessary guilt to the families of people who get the disease who happen to live far away. I think a more promising route of investigation is the idea that Alzheimer's is "diabetes of the brain". Diabetes can be caused by a lot of things, but isolation from family is not one of them.

  8. I read the linked articles... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...and they were very interesting but now can't remember what I wanted to post.

  9. Keep it away from your pet chimpanzee!! by walterbyrd · · Score: 1

    I think we all know how that works out.

  10. Legal perspective? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Taking care of someone by yourself under those conditions is hazardous just from a legal perspective

    In what kind of sick country do you live?

  11. Re:Article submitter BarbaraHudson by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You need to find another hobby. You're being much more annoying than anything you're railing against.

  12. Is it in time to save Discworld? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Hope they can test it on Terry Prachett :-(

  13. Re:Article submitter BarbaraHudson by easyTree · · Score: 1

    Can't you go back to whining about beta?

    --
    Requiem for the American Dream
  14. Article submitter, a question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why won't you answer this question BarbaraHudson? http://science.slashdot.org/co...

  15. Only side effect is by jpellino · · Score: 1

    craving honey and salmon.

    --
    "Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
  16. Can't you just be BarbaraHudson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're obviously a new /. sockpuppet account for BarbaraHudson to "defend" itself with obviously!

  17. Get it right! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That is GNU/LGBTt!!!

  18. Good links by Getahopa · · Score: 0

    Liverpool - Chelsea Barcelona - Atletico Madrid Australian Open 2015

  19. Re:Article submitter BarbaraHudson by wolja · · Score: 1

    BarbaraHudson got her/his tranny ass kicked again and ran http://slashdot.org/comments.p...

    Apparently you don't like LBGTt peeps. Not sure if it's your blatant homophobia or just the totally inane bringing in of sexual choice to a science article.

    --
    Wolja Future Tombstone: Shit happened then I died
  20. Question for article submitter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BarbaraHudson: How many sockpuppets ya got on /. ? http://science.slashdot.org/co...

  21. Re:Article submitter BarbaraHudson by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wrong: BarbaraHudson cheats moderation by sockpuppets http://science.slashdot.org/co... and that is dishonorable and scumbaggish. Most could care less if BarbaraHudson was foolish enough to attempt to become a woman, which he/she is not by a long shot. Get real.

  22. Re:Article submitter BarbaraHudson by wolja · · Score: 1

    Wrong: BarbaraHudson cheats moderation by sockpuppets http://science.slashdot.org/co... and that is dishonorable and scumbaggish. Most could care less if BarbaraHudson was foolish enough to attempt to become a woman, which he/she is not by a long shot. Get real.

    Attack the deed not the person. By attacking her gender choice you show yourself to be less than an idiot and certainly not brave enough to be a man.

    --
    Wolja Future Tombstone: Shit happened then I died