Scientists may have found a way to restore memory in dementia patients

As the researchers receive $10 million in federal funding to carry out trials of a breakthrough ultrasound technique on humans, the possibility of memory being restored among dementia patients may become a reality soon.

Researchers had recently tested the technology in animal models to remove toxic amyloid-beta plaques from the brain. It helped them successfully reverse Alzheimer's symptoms and restore memory function in the animal model. It involves injecting “micro bubbles” in the brains of mice which, when used with an ultrasound, fully restored their brain function.

The grant will help the researchers test the method on up to 10 patients with early-onset dementia. A Prof. told the media that researchers had shown the approach worked in sheep and mice, and the next step was to go into human participants and start with the "safety trial".

The next stage will be developing the technology into a portable scanning device. According to the World Health Organization, by 2050, there will be more than three-fold increase in the number of people suffering from dementia from 50 million to 152 million.

In the backdrop of this data, the study and upcoming trials raise hopes for millions around the world.

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Milk, beef may trigger rheumatoid arthritis

A strain of bacteria commonly found in milk and beef may be a trigger for developing rheumatoid arthritis in people who are genetically at risk, according to a study.

Researchers  have discovered a link between rheumatoid arthritis and Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, known as MAP, a bacteria found in about half the cows in the US.

The bacteria can be spread to humans through the consumption of infected milk, beef and produce fertilised by cow manure.

The researchers are the first to report this connection between MAP and rheumatoid arthritis in a study published in the journal.

They had previously discovered a connection between MAP and Crohn's disease.

Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) share the same genetic predispositions and both are often treated using the same types of immunosuppressive drugs.

"Here you have two inflammatory diseases, one affects the intestine and the other affects the joints, and both share the same genetic defect and treated with the same drugs," said a infectious disease specialist.

For the study, the rheumatologist recruited 100 of her patients who volunteered clinical samples for testing.

Seventy-eight per cent of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis were found to have a mutation in the PTPN2/22 gene, the same genetic mutation found in Crohn's patients, and 40 per cent of that number tested positive for MAP.

"We believe that individuals born with this genetic mutation and who are later exposed to MAP through consuming contaminated milk or meat from infected cattle are at a higher risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis," the scientist said.

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease that causes the immune system to attack a person's joints, muscles, bones and organs.

Patients suffer from pain and deformities mostly in the hands and feet. It can occur at any age but the most common onset is between 40 and 60 years old and is three times more prevalent in women.
"We do not know the cause of rheumatoid arthritis, so we are excited that we have found this association," the scientist said.

"But there is still a long way to go. We need to find out why MAP is more predominant in these patients - whether it is present because they have RA, or whether it caused RA in these patients. If we find that out, then we can target treatment towards the MAP bacteria," she said.

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Humans can spot small signs of sickness at a glance

Humans may use a host of facial cues – visible just hours after an infection starts – to avoid contracting illnesses from others, study indicates.

Obvious signs of illness such as sneezing and coughing are easy to spot, but more subtle cues such as pale lips or droopy eyelids may help humans to tell when another person is sick. 

Coughing, sneezing and clutching the stomach might be obvious signs of sickness, but humans can also spot if someone is healthy simply from a glance at their face, new research suggests.

Scientists have found that signs of a person being acutely unwell – such as pale lips, a downward turn of the mouth and droopy eyelids – are visible just hours after an infection begins.

“We use a number of facial cues from other people and we probably judge the health in other people all the time,” said  a co-author of the research.

While previous work has shown that besides overt symptoms – such as sniffing – changes in skin colour can serve as a guide to health, experts say the latest study highlights the ways in which humans might use a host of early signals to avoid contracting infection from others.

Writing in the journal researchers described how they injected 16 healthy adults with a placebo and, at a separate point in time, molecules from E coli which are known to rapidly trigger flu-like symptoms. The participants were unaware which injection they had received, and were photographed about two hours after each injection. 

The team then showed the portraits to 62 participants who were asked to judge whether the pictured person was sick or healthy, with each picture shown for a maximum of five seconds. 

The results reveal that the participants were able to spot a sick person slightly better than if they were guessing, correctly identifying someone as being unwell 52% of the time. However, more impressively, they correctly labelled individuals as being healthy 70% of the time.

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