is estimated by 2050 there will be more than 14 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Although usually associated with age, there is an increasing number of people in their 40s who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. For over 20 years of longitudinal research is underway to find the causes of this terrible disease.
In 1986, Dr. David Snowdon, University of Minnesota began its work with a group of nuns called the School Sisters of Notre Dame. This is a landmark study, which continues to this day. What makes this study so remarkable, that the 678 nuns agreed to voluntarily their brains to their death. Given that Alzheimer's can be accurately diagnosed through autopsy, their generosity has helped the researchers to have a better understanding of AD.
One of the factors that makes these nuns as ideal candidates, their homogeneity. Most of them have been together for seventy years or so and had the same diet and lifestyle and so on.
Researchers from different disciplines (psychology, neurology, pediatrics, and School of Public Health) have access to this growing body of information, as well.
Most nuns are in their 80's to 100 years, but she entered the convent on 22 year of life. After entering the convent sisters are required to write essays introducing myself. What Dr. Snowdon noted that the more dense with ideas, his writings are, the less likely nurses are to have Alzheimer's disease. Again, the most sophisticated of its grammar, the less likely you are to have Alzheimer's disease. On the other hand, less complex documents, it is likely that they had Alzheimer's disease.
emotional states are also predictors of Alzheimer's disease. Again, the more depressed tone, the more likely nurses are to be AZ.
Wait, it gets even more interesting. In some cases, Dr. Snowdon found that nuns who have difficulty all the neuronal and plaques for the full-blown AD, but he showed none of the symptoms! One of the nuns, who was 101 when she died was the teaching of mathematics more quickly and died.
in terms of the nuns' writings, what does that mean? Is the chicken in the first place, or is it an egg? Does the idea of density, or lack thereof, to determine whether a person will get Alzheimer's? Or a more simplified way of writing the early manifestation of Alzheimer's disease?
One thing to note is that the nuns who were teachers (and who continued to teach), were less likely to experience a new era, one of those nuns who were more service-oriented. What seems like a case of use it or lose it.
More interesting, the food this time was that the nuns with high levels of folic acid is barely evident Alzheimer's type of brain damage at autopsy. This is explained as folic acid acts as a check against the amino acid homocysteine, which has been implicated in cardiovascular disease. Higher levels of folate in the blood appears to offer protection against stroke, -. I might even protect brain cells from damaging homocysteine in the brain
Nun Study is continuing and there are now a total of five chapters, which operates in the U.S.
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