New hope for Alzheimer’s and autism

There is new hope for Alzheimer’s patients.

Mice with Alzheimer’s disease showed improvement in a recent UC-Irvine study, after they were given high doses of an over-the-counter form of vitamin B-3.

The treatment prevented memory loss and improved information highways by keeping neurons alive in their brains. The mice with Alzheimer’s performed at the same level as normal mice in memory tests, like object recognition. And the cognitive abilities of normal mice actually improved.

A clinical trial is now underway at UC-Irvine to determine the effect of the vitamin in humans.

Could there be a correlation between rainfall and autism rates in children? That is what a new study suggests.

Lead researcher and Cornell University Professor Michael Waldman said his team found that in California, Oregon and Washington counties with a higher annual rainfall had higher autism rates in school-age children. Their study also showed children who lived in rainy climates before the age of 3, were more prone to developing autism.

Waldman said the findings suggest that autism may not be entirely genetic, as some scientists believe. He believes possible explanations could be that when rain forces children indoors, they may be deprived of vitamin D.

Other scientists are dubious about the results but say more research is needed. The study will be published in this month’s issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.