5 replies to this topic

[ImmInst]

Dear Pour_la_Science,
Thank you for your donation of 30.00 USD to the grass roots science funding project.
It would be very interesting and inspiring if you could share your reasons for donating - if you'd like to tell us, please post below.

[Pour_la_Science]

It's not $854 but little brooks make great rivers.
There are a great number of present researches targeting Alzheimer's disease (the main cause of cognitive decline associated with aging).

But I think it's important to have researches focusing on different aspects of this disease, not only neurons or amyloid plaques. It's important also, and much more promising for future development to have an approach based on regenerative medicine (i.e replacing functions, here those of senescent microglia, which are lost). This is not so common. Lots of researches, especially in aging, are still focusing on way to slow down the progression of aging associated diseases (for example inhibiting the aggregation of tau protein, increasing the function of the neurons still alive etc..)

So, I hope this small donation will lead to other ones, because it's only by doing things together that our ideas can progress

Edited by Pour_la_Science, 15 November 2010 - 10:29 PM.

[ArndHinze]

"There are a great number of present researches targeting Alzheimer's disease (the main cause of cognitive decline associated with aging)."

Sadly, you sometimes need a 'cause' for treating aging. For example cancer, Alzheimer, MS etc. While it is important to cure them it is clear that they are, in fact, age related. So sometimes I'm really frustrated that not more is going into regenerative medicine just because treating the continuous loss of fitness that is called aging would mean higher productivity and prevent other diseases.

"It's important also, and much more promising for future development to have an approach based on regenerative medicine (i.e replacing functions, here those of senescent microglia, which are lost)."

The main point in the suggested project is the ability of the microglia to migrate into the brain. There have been conflicting result. Several groups have reported robust migration. But for example Ajami 2007 and Mildner 2007 showed that in young mice no strong migration takes place as long as you have no irradiation (and with irradiation proliferation and breakdown of blood brain barrier). They did only investigate young mice and in fact had migration but too low and saw stronger migration in connection with injuries. However in old animals/organisms it is known that the bbb becomes porous (which might even be one of the causes of inflamm-aging). Pronounced migration into the brain in old animals itself would already be a very important result for a cell therapy of the brain. Also it is known that microglia in alzheimer mice models often are near the plaques but display problems to digest them.

[Pour_la_Science]

"There are a great number of present researches targeting Alzheimer's disease (the main cause of cognitive decline associated with aging)."

Sadly, you sometimes need a 'cause' for treating aging. For example cancer, Alzheimer, MS etc. While it is important to cure them it is clear that they are, in fact, age related. So sometimes I'm really frustrated that not more is going into regenerative medicine just because treating the continuous loss of fitness that is called aging would mean higher productivity and prevent other diseases.

I completely agree with you! I was just highlighting the fact that the project is focused on a age-related disease, namely Alzheimer disease, which may be thought to be already studied by lots of other researchers, all around the world and therefore, that this project is only another project.
But I'm against that and support these research project, based on the ideas that :
-we are still very far to have found "the cure", and we're still only able to alleviate the symptoms for the moments, so more researches are still needed for a disease so disastrous and limiting the longevity of our neuronal functions
and especially, if
-the research is focused on other different targets than the other researches (not directly tau aggregation, neuron neurotransmitters etc.)
-the research like this project implies the use of "regenerative medicine" (since the goal is indeed to replace the function of senescent microglia, not only increasing the function of remaining neurons etc.).

Thanks for the reply by the way! It's good to see researchers doing actually the science and following this forum!

Edited by Pour_la_Science, 16 November 2010 - 01:35 PM.

[brokenportal]

It's not $854 but little brooks make great rivers

They certainly do. We cant go anywhere with out them. It reminds me of this: http://imminst.org/c...t/reaching-goal

Sadly, you sometimes need a 'cause' for treating aging. For example cancer, Alzheimer, MS etc. While it is important to cure them it is clear that they are, in fact, age related. So sometimes I'm really frustrated that not more is going into regenerative medicine just because treating the continuous loss of fitness that is called aging would mean higher productivity and prevent other diseases.

We agree, here at Imminst of course, you can apply for grants that are geared directly toward the roots of aging. Hopefully these Imminst grants will continue to grow and flourish and help inspire more of the same. That is part of the long term planning.

[ceridwen]

Alzhimmers is not exclusively a disease of the elderly. People as young as 30 can get it. There are many videos on YouTube that cover early Alzhimmers patients and their familys. There is one about a woman who was pregnant and had early Alzhimmers. This disease has reached epidemic proportions. It must be reversed. This can only be achieved by replacing missing functions and that can only be achieved by regenerative medicine.