More on brain aging research from 7news: "The breakdown of myelin, a sheet of fat that insulates nerves and helps speed messages through the brain, appears to be a key contributor to the onset of Alzheimer's disease ... They found the severity and rate of myelin breakdown was correlated with the type of APOE, or apolipoprotein-E, gene a person had. Previous research has shown APOE status to be the second-biggest risk factor for the disease after ageing, with a version called APOE-4 putting persons at highest risk. ... breakdown of myelin, a natural part of the ageing process, proceeded most rapidly for those with APOE-4, less so for those with APOE-3 and most slowly for those with APOE-2. APOE-2 is thought to offer some protection from Alzheimer's, while APOE-3 is seen as neutral. ... These new findings offer, for the first time, compelling genetic evidence that myelin breakdown underlies both the advanced age and the principal genetic risks for Alzheimer disease."
03
Jan
2006
Myelin Breakdown And Alzheimer's
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First Steps
The Causes of Aging
- Accumulating AGEs
- Buildup of Amyloid Between Cells
- The Failing Adaptive Immune System
- The Failing Innate Immune System
- Declining Lysosomal Function
- Mitochondrial DNA Damage
- Nuclear DNA Damage
- Buildup of Senescent Cells
- Other Causes of Aging
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Required Reading
- Calorie Restriction
- The Community, Visualized
- Cryonics
- Engineered Negligible Senescence
- Envisaging a World Without the FDA
- How to Argue for Longevity Science
- Introductory Articles
- The Odds of Human Longevity Mutations
- The Need For Activism and Advocacy
- Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine
- Twelve Ways to Extend Mouse Life Span
- Transhumanism and Human Longevity
- The Vital Debate in Aging Research
- What is Anti-Aging?
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