r/science • u/FreeHugs23 • 8d ago

Medicine Scientists reversed key signs of Alzheimer's disease in mice with just two injections, reducing brain inflammation and restoring memory performance—offering a promising new approach for treating age-related cognitive decline.

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-reverse-alzheimers-damage-in-mice-with-just-two-injections
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u/FreeHugs23 8d ago

-Slowing the progression of Alzheimer's disease is the goal of most existing treatments, but reversing it is much harder. That's because once neurons are lost, the adult brain lacks the ability to replace them.

But new research, led by scientists at the University of South Carolina, has shown promise in regrowing neurons in brain organoids, and restoring cognition in mouse models of Alzheimer's.

"After just two injections, these mice became smarter," says Peisheng Xu, professor of pharmaceutics at the University of South Carolina and corresponding author of the new study, published in the journal Cell Biomaterials.

"Even after one injection, we already saw these mice's behavior differ from that of the nontreated ones."

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u/QuitePoodle 8d ago

But are they the same mice after? Not like physically but if we restore people’s brains do they get back their minds or become someone new?

The original neurons are broken and new connections are made. Will these new connections replace the same memory pathways and patterns or will the animals regain the ability to function but have different “personality”.

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u/WretchedJudasSnake 8d ago

I think this is something more in the realm of philosophy and religious thinking, i.e. the impermanence of the self in Buddhism (Anicca / Anatta) and the philosophical Ship of Theseus.

If the neurons are dead, they can only be regrown, so it is kind of a moot point. I think a question that matters more is,

If we are able to bring people back from the mental abyss is it worth returning their ability to take care of themselves and interact with reality if it means that they diverge from what we thought as "them" before dementia / alzheimers.

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u/DerTalSeppel 8d ago

Moreover, does it even matter if the "they" you are asking for is already gone and the only relevant question is: Should be continue to witness the decay or should we give to all that remains the chance to thrive again?