Low doses of ionizing radiation may be a promising therapy for people with Alzheimer’s disease
Individuals living with severe Alzheimer s disease showed remarkable improvements in behavior and cognition within days of receiving an innovative new treatment that delivered low doses of radiation, a recent Baycrest-Sunnybrook pilot study found.
The primary goal of a therapy for Alzheimer s disease should be to improve the patient s quality of life. We want to optimize their well-being and restore communication with family and friends to avoid social isolation, loneliness and under-stimulation. Although the study was a small pilot and should be interpreted with caution, our results suggest that low-dose radiation therapy may successfully achieve this.
Individuals living with severe Alzheimer s disease showed remarkable improvements in behaviour and cognition within days of receiving an innovative new treatment that delivered low doses of radiation, a recent Baycrest-Sunnybrook pilot study found.
Scientists receive prestigious grant to explore the effects of prior knowledge on learning and memory
The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) has awarded a team of scientists at Baycrest s Rotman Research Institute (RRI) a prestigious grant to determine why having prior knowledge on a topic affects how we learn new, related information as we age.
This research will pave the way for optimizing the use of prior knowledge to preserve and improve memory as we get older, ultimately helping older adults live life to the fullest. Prior knowledge has been shown in animals to transform the cortex - that is, the outer layers of the brain - from being a slow learner to a fast integrator of new knowledge related to old knowledge. With our research, we aim to determine whether a similar process takes place in the human brain and whether this can help offset age-related memory decline.
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The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) has awarded a team of scientists at Baycrest s Rotman Research Institute (RRI) a prestigious grant to determine why having prior knowledge on a topic affects how we learn new, related information as we age. This research will pave the way for optimizing the use of prior knowledge to preserve and improve memory as we get older, ultimately helping older adults live life to the fullest. Prior knowledge has been shown in animals to transform the cortex - that is, the outer layers of the brain - from being a slow learner to a fast integrator of new knowledge related to old knowledge. With our research, we aim to determine whether a similar process takes place in the human brain and whether this can help offset age-related memory decline, says Dr. Gilboa, a senior scientist at the RRI, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and the principal investigator on the study.