Alzheimer mapping and memory - Health Report

A recent Health Report on ABC RN focused on Alzheimer Disease and memory.  In Mapping Alzhiemer, Norman Swan interviewed researchers at Columbia University who have mapped the path of a distorted protein known as 'tau' which hits the area of the brain where memories are made and stored as it jumps from cell to cell.  It is hoped that this knowledge will lead to the development of a way to stop this happening.

Another study from the University of Minnesota trialed Vitamin E and Alzheimer and trial leader, Mark Dysken, described how a marked benefit on functional ability in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer disease was demonstrated when treated with quite a high dose of Vitamin E.

Finally, in Active Memory, cognitive psychologist Professor Bob Wood explains his scepticism about the brain training industry as a preventive measure for staving off dementia.  He discusses the importance of accumulated knowledge as a balance to cognitive fluidity in younger people and suggests that doing tasks like crosswords and Sudoku make you better at those specific tasks, but don't improve your everyday performance as a whole.