April 27, 2015 Wiggy Saunders

The Weird Thing Scientists Believe Might Cause Alzheimer’s

Researchers at Duke University performed an experiment they believe might point to what causes Alzheimer’s to gain a foothold and begin to ruin people’s lives.

The study was conducted with lab mice, and it showed when Alzheimer’s begins to develop, the brain’s natural protective agents actually go M.I.A. allowing the degenerative neurological disease to become exacerbated and more destructive.

In particular, they noticed immune cells called mircoglia work in “reverse.” Normally tasked with helping to protect the brain, they instead begin to dampen the immune system which allows the disease to progress.

CBS News notes: “The study, published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, opens up the possibility that two of the main suspects in Alzheimer’s development — amyloid plaques and tangles of tau proteins in the brain — are not acting alone.”

1 Relatively Unknown Vitamin Shown to Help Fight Alzheimer’s.

How surprising is this?

Apparently it’s news to many medical professionals.

Dr. Jon Lapook, who serves as CBS News chief medical correspondent, said, “You’re finding a molecular pathway that we hadn’t thought of at all that might be important for the development of Alzheimer’s…[Instead of just focusing on amyloid plaques and tau proteins] now they’re looking at something new. They’re looking at these supportive cells called microglia that are inside the brain, they help to support the surrounding neurons.”

The scientists research demonstrated [in mice] that when Alzheimer’s begins to set in, the mircoaglia begin to increase their excretion of an enzyme called arginase.

In terms of how this effects brain health, arginase is responsible for lowering the levels of a very important amino acid known as arginine, which is essential to help nourish the sensitive neurons in nerve cells.

Further, arginine supplementation won’t [and can’t] reverse the effects of arginase, and the Duke researchers are trying to use this data to come up with effective treatments.

The one thing about this research is it only shows what happens once Alzheimer’s has developed.

To prevent the formation of Alzheimer’s would be ideal, because then the microalgia won’t work against the brain and allow it to be susceptible to further degeneration.

It’s believed Vitamin K-2 is able to help prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s.

As K-2 works to move calcium out of the blood and into the bones, it can keep calcium out of the brain.

It’s believed calcium in the brain can also be a contributing factor to the onset of Alzheimer’s.

K-2 along with a healthy diet and an active mental state can help protect your brain from eventual degeneration.