Memory loss is a common symptom of diseases like depression, alzherimer's, dementia, and many other diseases and new research shows that there could be a way to combat the memory loss. In a study published at Science Daily it talks about the invention of new molecules that are able to be inserted in the minds of patients and repair damages that eventually lead to memory loss.
This will not only help doctors treat patients that suffer from diseases that cause memory loss, but it can also be used to combat a common side effect of aging. This new molecule was developed in Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. These molecules not only improve the symptoms of patients, but also appear to renew the brain impairments that cause memory loss.
This development is so ground breaking because currently there are no medications to treat cognitive symptoms, and in the failure of prescription medications these molecules can provide something no medication has ever been able to help. These molecules target the impaired brain receptors and activate them to combat the memory loss. When the molecules are inserted into the patient they deliver chemical tweaks of benzodiazepines which is an anti-anxiety medication. It activates the GABA system.
The scientists conducted a study in which they administered these molecules into patients suffering from stress-induced memory loss. They found that the molecules worked in as little as thirty minutes with patients reporting that their memory performance returned to normal levels. The experiment was replicated and repeated more than fifteen times to confirm the results.
They conducted a second experiment with older participants suffering from age related memory loss. Reported that their memory declines were rapidly reversed, and their performance increased eighty percent after the study. With this new invention it would change the way that cognitive defects are treated, but it would also impact the way that mental illnesses are treated.
In this article the problem isn't highlighted as much as a proposed solution, but the problem they are discussing in this article is memory loss and its lack of possible treatments. This topic is important to any audience because it shows the advancements of modern medicine, and the potential treatments that younger generations will have access to. It will also help doctors better treat diseases like Alzheimer's and dementia which are diseases that a majority of elders suffer from. As someone who has Alzheimer's and dementia in my family the promise of this study is hopeful because I could have better treatment options that my family members.
Science daily gets their point across very well. They take science rhetoric from published research and make it understandable for the common reader. They use non-complicated terms and explain in depth so that the reader can get the point of the article without being confused. One way that they could widen their audience is highlight the potential this study has to gear it more towards young people, and show how it will help the older generations as well. One thing they could have done to ramp this study up is show its promise. They downplay its potential, and I think that a mistake. This study is very promising and could have huge applications in the future and I think they should have highlighted that more. Even though this is the first were hearing about it, and there's not a ton of information on it they could have applied it better in the article.
