MIAMI – A recent study at Virginia Tech finds that fluid flow in the brain may be a key in fighting Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Rosie Curiel Cid with the University of Miami Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and Aging said researchers believe brain fluid movements decrease with age.
This raises the possibility of speeding up that flow to flush out the accumulation of a protein linked to Alzheimer’s.
“It is very complicated and so the researchers at Virginia Tech what they’re actually doing is they have different kinds of tissue models that they’re doing this in vitro and they also have mouse models where they’re essentially helping to bind molecules that can help with the flow acceleration,” she said.
Cid said similar technology has been applied in treating Glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord.
Studying sleep among Hispanics
A study led by researchers at the UM Miller School of Medicine found that poor sleep is a predictor of long-term cognitive declines in Hispanics.
The study found that the risk is greater among middle-age and older Hispanic adults than non-Hispanic adults.
Researchers said that a surprising finding of the study was that participants who weren’t obese but had sleep disorders had worse cognitive decline.
This latest research builds on previously published data linking sleep disorders with memory decline in Hispanics.