A maverick new germ theory could help keep your ageing mind intact.
IN JULY 2000, as the World Alzheimer Congress convened in Washington, DC, there was a moment – a “dawning sense that scientists could be on the verge of stemming the epidemic,” Time magazine put it – when a treatment for the disease seemed imminent. Science was pouring minds and money into solving this devastating problem that creates total neurological meltdown and can break apart and bankrupt families.
Spoiler alert: nope. Almost two decades later, the heartbreaking and costly illness first identified by Alois Alzheimer in 1906 is more prevalent than ever. According to Alzheimer's South Africa, approximately 750 000 South Africans have the disease. While Alzheimer’s often doesn’t show up in a tangible way until your 70s or later, the brain changes associated with it begin decades earlier. The surge of money that inspired that optimism has failed to produce a drug that brings anything more than a modest, temporary improvement in symptoms once they show up – if that.
The dearth of progress has some researchers rethinking everything they’ve been taught about what Alzheimer’s disease is and how it works. Although the ranks of these scientists are small, the idea uniting them is a big one: that Alzheimer’s is caused by germs. And not some exotic new germs, but the same microscopic organisms that cause things such as gum disease and cold sores. Most brains accumulate pathogens as they age – blood vessels become leakier, making the blood-brain barrier more porous. These scientists think some of the germs that infiltrate the brain may be the instigators of the changes that become Alzheimer’s.
この記事は Men's Health South Africa の July 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Men's Health South Africa の July 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
INSTANT PROGRESS THE 28-DAY PULLUP PLAN
JUST 10 MINUTES A DAY FOR A MONTH CAN PUSH YOU FROM PULLUP ZERO TO YOUR FIRST GREAT REPS.
THE MH INTERVIEW STARTER MUSCLE
THE FIRST STEPS ON A NEW FITNESS JOURNEY ARE OFTEN THE TOUGHEST. BUT WITH A FEW TWEAKS TO YOUR THINKING, PT AND PART-OWNER OF MOTLEY CREW CROSSFIT TYRON HATCH WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO STRIDE TOWARDS THE LOFTIEST GOALS.
15 SMART WAYS TO GET AHEAD IN LIFE (BY DOING LITTLE THINGS BETTER)
Self-improvement needn't be a slog. You can make gains-both marginal and meaningful-simply by approaching your day-to-day tasks with a little extra know-how. We raided the MH archives to compile these truly life-enhancing tips from our expert contributors. It's time to level up.
LOVE & LIKES
WHEN DOES SOCIAL-MEDIA FLIRTING BECOME CHEATING? LET’S TALK IT OUT.
FORCE OF NATURE
THE SAS SOLDIER TURNED TV SURVIVALIST HAS MADE OUTDOOR ADVENTURE HIS BUSINESS. BUT WHAT LESSONS DO HIS METHODS HOLD IN OUR INCREASINGLY URBANISED AND ONLINE WORLD?
COLOGNE BUT WITH
YOU BUY COLOGNE TO STAND OUT. SO WHY NOT REALLY STAND OUT? THESE BOLDER SPRITZES SMELL AWESOME AND LAST LONGER, WHICH MEANS YOU CAN USE LESS. OUR PICKS LEVEL UP IN INTENSITY AS YOU MOVE ALONG THE SPECTRUM.
THE BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO RUNNING LAPS AROUND THE ECONOMY
CATCHING UP WHEN INFLATION IS ALWAYS OUT TO SET A NEW PB CAN FEEL IMPOSSIBLE. PUT THESE 11 EXPERT-APPROVED LESSONS INTO ACTION TO DUCK AND WEAVE AROUND YOUR MONEY WOES
WHY 30-MINUTE WORKOUTS WILL WORK FOR YOU
LESS IS MORE WHEN IT COMES TO EXERCISING FOR FITNESS, STRENGTH AND HEALTH.
UNFREEZE YOUR MIND
ALL MY LIFE, I THOUGHT I WAS A COWARD. THEN I DISCOVERED THAT THE REAL NAME FOR WHAT I'D BEEN FEELING WAS ANXIETY- AND I WAS IN GOOD COMPANY.
DARK PLACES
For any surfer, taking on the monster waves at Nazaré in Portugal is a death-defying risk. For Matt Formston, there's another consideration: he's blind.