Battle of the Sexes, Neurologically Speaking

Recent studies are showing differences in female and male brain activity when it comes to cooperation. When an individual is faced with a problem and cooperation is the only pathway towards the solution; men and women approach these types of similar tasks in their own unique ways. These differences in approach can be seen in their brain's activity. When researchers from Stanford University of School of Medicine asked people to work with a partner, they tracked the brain activity of both participants. The results showed that males and females do in fact have different patterns of brain activity. (A)

The findings of 'Scientific Reports' (June 8, 2016) showed that cooperative behavior may have evolved differently between males and females, giving researchers new ways in which to enhance cooperative behavior. Neither gender is better than the other at cooperating, but it is the way in which they cooperate that is different.Anyone who has ever been a participant in a group project knows that not everyone cooperates equally. Behavioral studies have found that women cooperate more when they’re being watched by other women whereas, men tend to cooperate better in large groups. In addition, while a pair of men might cooperate better than a pair of women, in a mixed-sex pair the woman tends to be more cooperative. There have been many theories as to why this happens however, there has been very little science on brain activity that supports these theories.(A) 

Hyper-scanning is the technique the Stanford researchers used to detect the brains activity during cooperation.It involved simultaneously recording the activity in two participating individual’s brains while they interacted with each other to accomplish a task. Instead of an MRI machine where individuals have to participate while remaining perfectly still and flat in order for the machine to gather data, the scientists had to use near-infrared spectroscopy or NIRS (probes are attached to individuals head to record brain function. With this method, individuals are allowed to sit upright and interact more naturally.) While wearing the NIRS probes, each person sat in front a computer, across the table from their partner. Partners could see each other, but were instructed not to talk. Instead, they were asked to press a button when a circle on the computer screen changed color. The goal: to press the button simultaneously with their partner. After each try, the pair were told who had pressed the button sooner and how much sooner. They had 40 tries to get their timing as close as possible.(A)

 

On average, male-male pairs performed better than female-female pairs at timing their button pushes more closely, the researchers found. However, the brain activity in both same-sex pairs was highly synchronized during the activity, meaning that they had high levels of "inter-brain coherence." Within same-sex pairs, increased coherence was correlated with better performance on the cooperation task,” Baker said., “However, the location of coherence differed between male-male and female-female airs.” Surprisingly, though, male-female pairs did as well as male-male pairs at the cooperation task, even though they didn’t show coherence. Since the brains of males and females showed different patterns of activity during the exercise, more research might shed light on how sex-related differences in the brain inform cooperation strategy — at least when it comes to this particular type of cooperation. (A)

 

Sex differences can be seen in the brain's function and form. The brains of males and females are not the same as sex differences can be seen in the brain's function as well as its form. So, the question now is, how does the brain differ for each gender? The first and most likely to have the greatest influence on these differences are the sex hormones. These hormones greatest influence or activity is during the developmental stages of a fetus. A study from Israeli revealed that up until 26 weeks of pregnancy the developing fetus shows differences in the brains of each gender. Through an ultra sound scanner the researchers were able to see the corpus callosum (which is the bridge of nerve tissue that connects the right and left sides of the brain). The ultra sound scanner revealed thicker measurements in female fetuses than those in male fetuses.(B)

In adult brains however, the corpus callosum can be stronger in female brains. They have a language functioning in both sides of the brain. Using brain imaging technology that captures blood flow to working parts of the brain analyzed how men and women process language. Every participant in the study listened to a novel where when the males listened only the left hemisphere of their brains were activated. Those of the female brains showed activity on both the left and right hemispheres.This activity across both hemispheres of the brain may result in the strong language skills typically displayed by females. If there's more area dedicated to a set of skills, it follows that the skills will be more refined. Overall females outperform males in the usage of their language and fine motor skills up until puberty. Males are more likely to have learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and ADHD. When females suffer with ADHD it is usually because they show inattention whereas males it affects their lack of impulse of control. Not all these differences however are in favor to females.(B)

Males show superiority over females in areas of math and geometry. These areas in the brain mature four years earlier than in females (from a study of over 500 children where their brain development were measured). When comparing brains in the area of math, the brain of a 12 year old female brain resembles the brain of an 8 year old male brain. The same researchers discovered that the areas of the brain involved in language and fine motor skills (such as handwriting) mature about six years earlier in girls than in boys. Throughout a human beings life span, the brain characteristics of females and males maintain unique characteristics. The male brain is 10% larger than a female brain. But bigger doesn't necessarily mean smarter. Male brains contain  6.5 times more gray matter which is sometimes referred as 'thinking matter' in comparison to females. On the other hand, female brain has more than 9.5 times as much white matter which functions in connecting various parts of the brain. The frontal area of the cortex and the temporal area of the cortex are more precisely organized in women, and are bigger in volume. This difference in form may explain a lasting functional advantage that females seem to have over males: dominant language skills.(B)

Scientists generally study four primary areas of difference in male and female brains: processing, chemistry, structure, and activity. The differences between male and female brains in these areas show up all over the world, but scientists also have discovered exceptions to every so-called gender rule. You may know some boys who are very sensitive, immensely talkative about feelings, and just generally don’t seem to fit the “boy” way of doing things. As with all gender differences, no one way of doing things is better or worse. The differences listed below are simply generalized differences in typical brain functioning, and it is important to remember that all differences have advantages and disadvantages. Male brains utilize nearly seven times more gray matter for activity while female brains utilize nearly ten times more white matter. What does this mean? Gray matter areas of the brain are localized. They are information- and action-processing centers in specific splotches in a specific area of the brain. This can translate to a kind of tunnel vision when they are doing something. Once they are deeply engaged in a task or game, they may not demonstrate much sensitivity to other people or their surroundings.(C)

Using existing sets of MRI brain images, they measured the volume of gray matter (the dark, knobby tissue that contains the core of nerve cells) and white matter (the bundles of nerve fibers that transmit signals around the nervous system) in the brains of more than 1400 individuals. They also studied data from diffusion tensor imaging, which shows how tracts of white matter extend throughout the brain, connecting different regions. White matter is the networking grid that connects the brain’s gray matter and other processing centers with one another. This profound brain-processing difference is probably one reason you may have noticed that girls tend to more quickly transition between tasks than boys do. The gray-white matter difference may explain why, in adulthood, females are great multi-taskers, while men excel in highly task-focused projects.(C)

The team found a few structural differences between men and women. The left hippocampus, for example, an area of the brain associated with memory, was usually larger in men than in women. In each region, however, there was significant overlap between males and females; some women had a larger or more male-typical left hippocampus, for example, while the hippocampus of some men was smaller than that of the average female.(C) Women use language skills to their advantage especially when they compete. They tend to gossip and manipulate information. This behavior is referred to as relational aggression and may have given females a survival advantage long ago. Having the ability to use language to organize relationships as a benefit during evolutionary history and used more frequently by females. subsequently, as expected, the language differences are more drastic between the two genders. Women also use language to build relationships, they tend to pause more, allow the other friend to speak more, offer facilitative gestures. (B)

However, when it comes to performing activities that require spatial skills, like navigating directions, men generally do better. Women use the cerebral cortex for solving problems that require navigational skills. Men use an entirely different area, mainly the left hippocampus (a nucleus deep inside the brain that's not activated in the women's brains during navigational tasks). The hippocampus automatically codes where you are in space. As a result, women are more likely to rely on landmark cues: they might suggest you turn at the 7-11 and make a right at the church, whereas men are more likely to navigate via depth reckoning -- go east, then west,etc. As our brains allows us to think, it drives our emotions, as well as the ability to identify and control emotions. This also varies between the sexes. Women are faster and more accurate at identifying emotions. Studies have shown women to be more adept than men at encoding facial differences and determining changing vocal intonations.Women, as a whole, may also be better than men at controlling their emotions.(B)

Recently discovered, sections of the brain used to control aggression and anger responses are larger in women than in men. These sex-associated brain differences may lead us to believe that men and women have little in common upstairs.However this is not the case as most of the brain areas are the same. These skill are overlapping in their distributions because there are many women with better-than-average spatial skills, and men with good writing skills.Some researchers believe that nurturing one's brain can enhance what nature has provided. Consider, for instance, the general superiority of males' spatial abilities. As anyone who spends a significant time around children knows, boys tend to get a lot more practice "moving through space"(chasing a ball, for instance) than girls do. There is a possibility to erase this difference if girls were encouraged to explore more. Others believe brain variations between sexes are for the best. Most of these differences are complementary. They increase the chances of males and females joining together. It helps the whole species.(B)

All human brains, regardless of gender, share a patchwork of forms in which some are more common in males and others more common in females. These recent studies on the brain could forever change the way in which scientists and researchers study the brain including how society defines gender. In conclusion: males have a larger amyglada (region associated with emotion) than women. Differences are influenced by the environment. However, the data reveals that there is much more overlap than difference between males and females. The findings have broad implications, Joel says. For one, she contends, researchers studying the brain may not need to compare males and females when analyzing their data. The extreme variability of human brains undermines the justifications for single-sex education based on innate differences between males and females, and perhaps even our definitions of gender as a social category. Some disagree that it might not be useful to consider sex as a variable when studying the brain. By studying male versus female brains, we have a great tool for exploring the biological basis of those differences.(C)

Male and female brains process the same neurochemicals but to different degrees and through gender-specific body-brain connections. Some dominant neurochemicals are serotonin, which, among other things. Testosterone which is our sex and aggression hormone and estrogen a female growth and reproductive hormone and lastly oxytocin is a bonding relationship chemical. The differences in 
processing these chemicals, males on average tend to be less inclined to sit still for as long as females and tend to be more physically impulsive and aggressive. Additionally, males process less of the bonding chemical oxytocin than females. Overall, a major takeaway of chemistry differences is to realize that our boys at times need different strategies for stress release than our girls.(C)

Females tend to input or absorb more sensorial and emotive information than males do. By “sensorial” we mean information to and from all five senses. If you note your observations over the next months of boys and girls and women and men, you will find that females tend to sense a lot more of what is going on around them throughout the day, and they retain that sensorial information more than men.(C)

Before boys or girls are born, their brains developed with different hemispheric divisions of labor. The right and left hemispheres of the male and female brains are not set up exactly the same way. For instance, females tend to have verbal centers on both sides of the brain, while males tend to have verbal centers on only the left hemisphere. This is a significant difference. Girls tend to use more words when discussing or describing incidence, story, person, object, feeling, or place. Males not only have fewer verbal centers in general but also, often, have less connectivity between their word centers and their memories or feelings. When it comes to discussing feelings and emotions and senses together, girls tend to have an advantage, and they tend to have more interest in talking about these things.(C)

Blood Flow and Brain Activity: During emotional processing there is another difference in the activity of males and females' brains. The female brain, in part thanks to far more natural blood flow throughout the brain at any given moment (more white matter processing), and because of a higher degree of blood flow in concentration in part of the brain named 'cingulate gyrus' which often times ruminate on and revisit emotional memories more than the male brain. Males, in general, are designed a bit differently. Males tend, after reflecting more briefly on an emotive memory, to analyze it somewhat, then move onto the next task. During this process, they may also choose to change course and do something active and unrelated to feelings rather than analyze their feelings at all. Thus, observers may mistakenly believe that boys avoid feelings in comparison to girls or move to problem-solving too quickly.(C)

These four, natural design differences listed above are just a sample of how males and females think differently. Scientists have discovered approximately 100 gender differences in the brain, and the importance of these differences cannot be overstated.Understanding these gender differences from a neurological perspective not only opens the door to greater appreciation of the different genders, it also calls into question how we parent, educate, and support our children from a young age.(C)

Links:
(A) https://neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/study-finds-differences-male-female-brain-activity-when-it-comes-cooperation
(B)http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-male-female-brains-differ?page=1
(C)http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/11/brains-men-and-women-aren-t-really-different-study-finds
(D)https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hope-relationships/201402/brain-differences-between-genders

*Please note! These images are not mine. They were found on various tumblr sites! If any are yours please let me know so that I can give you credit for them! Also the people in the images have no relation to the diseases, illnesses, or cancers I write about. Thanks so much & enjoy~

Misty Copeland - I WILL WHAT I WANT

Developing Brain High on Violence & Poverty

Relationship between Violence and Poverty:Does growing up in an environment engulfed in violence and poverty alter the brains development in any way? Everyday violence in the developing world is not the result of armies or massive conflicts. It’s actually the result of daily violence perpetrated by criminals in poor communities. Those individuals who commit sexual assaults, business owners who hold poor people in slavery, local police officers who extort money. This violence is unleashed by the absence of any functioning law enforcement to restrain these perpetrators. Teens are stereotyped world wide for having under developed sense of right and wrong, making impulsive decisions, being overly dramatic or emotional, and their reckless behavior. However, financially secure teens act as responsibly as stereotypical middle-aged people; and poor middle-aged people act as recklessly as stereotypical teens.(A)

Studies have shown a strong positive correlation between the many forms of influences on teens from peer pressure, parental attitudes, dropping out of school, drinking, drugs, and violent video games to criminal activity. Besides these psychological and sociological studies on the brain of a teenager, Mike Males conducted a study from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice in San Fransisco which support the argument that teenage poverty, not teenage biology, is most to blame for teenage crime. Males looked specifically at the more than 50,000 homicides in California from 1991 to 2002. As one would expect, teenagers perpetrated more of the homicides than other age groups — but only when he did not control for poverty. When he did control for poverty, teenagers committed more crimes than other age groups only in high-poverty areas. In the areas where teenagers had as much money as other middle-aged people, they tended to commit fewer violent crimes. And in the areas where middle-aged people had as little money as other teenagers, those middle-aged people tended to commit just as many violent crimes.(A)

Subsequently, we can conclude that teens who are financially secure behave similar to those of the typical stereotypes of middle aged individuals, whereas poverty stricken middle aged individuals behave just as recklessly as the stereotypical teen. Financial situations have the biggest impact. Homicide rates among the poorest teenagers were 18 more likely than those who are wealthy. The next question we have to ask ourselves as a society is - how do we level this playing field? Giving adolescents an opportunity to work where they gain knowledge, life experiences, and develop skills gives these youths hope. Regions in America that accumulate lower incomes as well as those where there is drastic differences in income (aka: income inequality) have been associated with high crime. The many negative stereotypes of teens are not necessarily genetically linked but are influenced by low socioeconomic status, not because of their young age. We as a society have to better decide how poor decisions should be punished and weigh in how these decisions get made in the first place.(A)

Psychology of the Brain and its correlation to the nation's economic crisis. These past few years have deeply affected millions of American lives. Driving through many neighborhoods throughout the nation there can be seen are foreclosure signs on businesses and the many job layoffs can be seen in any American family. Those who are the most affected are those who were already living in low- income communities. Poverty is linked with increasing levels of  homelessness and food insecurity/hunger for many Americans and children are particularly affected by these conditions. Find out below a summary of the myriad effects of poverty, homelessness, and hunger on children and youth. Various resources (from APA and other organizations) have also been listed that provide information and tools on ways to fight poverty in America (C) 

Effects of Poverty on Adolescent Brain: Psychological research has demonstrated that living in poverty has a wide range of negative effects on the physical and mental health and well-being of our nation’s children. Poverty impacts children within their various contexts at home, in school, and in their neighborhoods and communities. Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, inadequate child care, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and schools lacking in resources which adversely impact our nation’s children. Poorer children and teens are also at greater risk for several negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect, behavioral and emotional problems, physical health problems, and developmental delays. These effects are due to the barriers families face when trying to attain access to physical and mental health care.(B)

Poverty has a particularly adverse effect on the academic outcomes of children, especially during early childhood. Chronic stress associated with living in poverty has been shown to adversely affect children’s concentration and memory which may impact their ability to learn. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2008, the dropout rate of students living in low-income families was about four and one-half times greater than the rate of children from higher-income families (8.7 percent versus 2.0 percent). The academic achievement gap for poorer youth is particularly pronounced for low-income African American and Hispanic children compared with their more affluent White peers. Under resourced schools in poorer communities struggle to meet the learning needs of their students and aid them in fulfilling their potential.Inadequate education contributes to the cycle of poverty by making it more difficult for low-income children to lift themselves and future generations out of poverty.(B)

Children living in poverty are at greater risk of behavioral and emotional problems. Some behavioral problems may include impulsiveness, difficulty getting along with peers, aggression,attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder. Some emotional problems may include feelings of anxiety, depression, including low self-esteem. Poverty and economic hardship is particularly difficult for parents who may experience chronic stress, depression, marital distress and exhibit harsher parenting behaviors. These are all linked to poor social and emotional outcomes for children. Unsafe neighborhoods may expose low-income children to violence which can cause a number of psychosocial difficulties. Violence exposure can also predict future violent behavior in youth which places them at greater risk of injury and mortality and entry into the juvenile justice system.

Children and teens living in poorer communities are at increased risk for a wide range of physical health problems: Low birth weight /Poor nutrition which is manifested in the following ways: Inadequate food which can lead to food insecurity/hunger. Lack of access to healthy foods and areas for play or sports which can lead to childhood overweight or obesity.Chronic conditions such as asthma, anemia and pneumonia.Risky behaviors such as smoking or engaging in early sexual activity.Exposure to environmental contaminants, e.g., lead paint and toxic waste dumps.Exposure to violence in their communities which can lead to trauma, injury, disability and mortality.(B)

Effects of Hunger on the Adolescent Brain: Maternal malnutrition during pregnancy increases the risk of negative birth outcomes, including premature birth, low birth weight, smaller head size and lower brain weight. Babies born prematurely are vulnerable to health problems and are at increased risk for developing learning problems when they reach school-age.The first three years of a child’s life are a period of rapid brain development. Too little energy, protein and nutrients during this sensitive period can lead to lasting deficits in cognitive, social and emotional development. Protein-energy malnutrition, iron deficiency anemia, iodine, zinc and other vitamin deficiencies in early childhood can cause brain impairment. Failure to thrive, the failure to grow and reach major developmental milestones as the result of malnutrition, affects 5-10 percent of American children under the age of three.Hunger reduces a child’s motor skills, activity level and motivation to explore the environment. Movement and exploration are important to cognitive development, and more active children elicit more stimulation and attention from their caregivers, which promotes social and emotional development.

Families often work to keep their food-insecurity hidden and some parents may feel shame or embarrassment that they are not able to feed their children adequately. Children may also feel stigmatized, isolated, ashamed or embarrassed by their lack of food. A community sample that classified low-income children ages six to twelve as “hungry," “at-risk for hunger” or “not hungry” found that hungry children were significantly more likely to receive special education services, to have repeated a grade in school and to have received mental health counseling than at-risk-for-hunger or not-hungry children. In this same study, hungry children exhibited 7 to 12 times as many symptoms of conduct disorder (such as fighting, blaming others for problems, having trouble with a teacher, not listening to rules, stealing) than their at-risk or not-hungry peers. Among low-income children, those classified as “hungry” show increased anxious, irritable, aggressive and have a demeanor that is in opposition to their peers. Additionally, the multiple stressor's associated with poverty result in significantly increased risk for developing psychiatric and functional problems.

School-age children who experience severe hunger are at increased risk for the following negative outcomes:Homelessness, Chronic health conditions. Stressful life conditions.Psychiatric distress. Behavioral problems.Internalizing behavior, including depression, anxiety, withdrawal and poor self-esteem. The effects of malnutrition depend on the length and severity of the period of hunger and may be mediated by other factors. Improved nutrition, increased environmental stimulation, emotional support, and secure attachment to parents/caregivers can compensate for early malnutrition. Babies who receive enough nutrition while in the womb appear to show higher cognitive performance in later childhood. The human brain is flexible and can recover from early deficits, but this also means that brain structures remain vulnerable to further negative experiences throughout childhood. Breastfeeding, attentive care taking and attention to environmental factors, such as sleep cycles and noise, can also promote healthy development.

Links:
(A) http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/03/14/how-violence-perpetuates-poverty
(B)https://psmag.com/it-s-poverty-not-the-teenage-brain-that-causes-the-most-youth-crime-ced78344c132#.fqw1o4mik
(C)http://www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty.aspx

*Please note! These images are not mine. They were found on various tumblr sites! If any are yours please let me know so that I can give you credit for them! Also the people in the images have no relation to the diseases, illnesses, or cancers I write about. Thanks so much & enjoy~

Alzheimer's Fighting off Infections; Who Knew?

 
INTRODUCTION:

Recent research indicates that Alzheimer's can stem from the toxic remnants of the brain's attempt to fight off infections. Team of researchers from Harvard are close to finding the reason behind the origins of plaque tau found in individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's.

Experts on Alzheimer's disease are captivated by the idea that infections, those that are too mild to cause actual symptoms could possibly produce a fierce reaction leaving debris in the brain and in this case causing Alzheimer's in people as they age. The hypothesis makes sense and the data supports the hypothesis in that the major implications for preventing and treating this degenerative brain disease.

Dr. Michael W. Weiner is a radiology professor at University of California, San Francisco. He is the lead investigator of the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative where the goal of the organization is to create a large national effort to track the progression of the disease and look for biomarkers like blood proteins and brain imaging to signal the disease’s presence.

A virus, fungus, or a bacterium gets into the brain, passing through the the blood brain barrier membrane which becomes leakier with age. The brain’s defense system rushes in to stop the invader by making a sticky cage out of proteins, called beta amyloid. The microbe gets trapped, leaving behind a plaque that is the unique hallmark of Alzheimer’s. Data from the research, so far, have supported their hypothesis of the neurons growing in petri dishes including those in yeast, roundworms, fruit flies, and mice.

 

 

The origins of this idea and its work started with Robert Moir who had an idea about the function of amyloid proteins, normal brain proteins which have always been a mystery. The hypothesis has been that with age the brain accumulates 'garbage' that were called proteins by scientists. What Dr. Moir noticed that others didn't was that the proteins looked very similar to that of the innate immune system. What does this mean? The innate immune system is a primitive system that is the body's first line of defense against infections.

If these proteins were to be found anywhere else in the body, for example proteins called trap microbes ( viruses, fungi, yeast, bacteria). After the initial defense, the body releases WBCs to clear up any mess formed. Dr. Moir, came to the conclusion of the possibility that amyloids were also part of that system. AT Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts' General hospital, he began working with Rudolph Tanzi on a study to see if amyloids were trapped in microbes in living animals as well as if mice which lack these amyloid proteins were quickly ravaged by infections that amyloid could have stopped.

In a study where salmonella was injected in the bacteria in the brains of young mice that did not have plaques. Overnight, the bacteria gave birth to plaques. The hippocampus was full of plaques, and each plaque had a single bacterium at its center. Those that did not form beta amyloid plaques succumbed more quickly to the bacterial infection. Plaques never formed in their brains.

The idea in researchers minds has always been that the plaques were a form of trash accumulated in the brain. Alzheimer's pathway is supported by years of research. Plaques form and set off the formation of  tangled threadlike tau proteins. Then, as tangles of tau kill nerve cells, the brain becomes inflamed, resulting in the killing of many more nerve cells. There were a few puzzling clues that something else might be going on, but they did not make much sense.

Investigators have indeed reported that individuals who developed Alzheimer’s revealed to have higher levels of antibodies to herpes- an indication of a previous infection- compared to those who did not have the disease. Dr. Berislay Zlokovic's studies also support this statement. The blood brain barrier fits this hypothesis. He discovered that the barrier began degrading due after years of aging and of all the regions, the hippocampus (site of learning and memory) was the leakiest part of the membrane. Coincidentally, this is also where Alzheimer’s plaques form.

 

 

Then there are individuals who have a mutated gene that guarantees that they will eventually develop the disease at an early age. The problem here is that these individuals vastly overproduce beta amyloid. So much of these begin to clump up even without the presence of microbes. Uniquely enough, not everyone who has had a brain infection develops Alzheimers. Some individuals seem to be more vulnerable to the disease than others.

A new theory proposes that the brain has the ability to clear out balls of beta amyloid after they have killed the microbes. Individuals with the gene 'ApoE2' have brains that are skilled at clearing out this plaque subsequently lowering their risk of developing Alzheimer's in their later years. Then there are individuals who have different version of this gene which are inefficient in removing plaque and therefore have a high risk of developing Alzheimer's.

The incidence of dementia has been declining is the past few years. The reasoning behind the results of these recent data suggests that individuals have been taking better control of their blood pressures and cholesterol levels. By doing so, they are starving off mini strokes which can cause dementia. Much more work is needed in this area of medical research.

 

 

 

The Cure Alzheimer’s Fund is initiating a large collaborative project that will use gene sequencing technology to carefully look for microbes in the brain. These careful observations will range from the brains of people who had Alzheimer's and those who never developed the disease. The microbes located within the plaques in human brains will also be collected. Dr. Tanzi strongly suggests that the very first question that needs to be answered is whether there are microbes that can sneak into the brain as we age triggering amyloid deposition so that we can then set a new goal in stopping them.

Links:
(A)http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/26/health/alzheimers-disease-infection.html?_r=0

*Please note! These images are not mine. They were found on various tumblr sites! If any are yours please let me know so that I can give you credit for them! Also the people in the images have no relation to the diseases, illnesses, or cancers I write about. Thanks so much & enjoy~