Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
Interesting article appearing in RA Warrior. Interesting, but now I know I will be aware of this thing till I'm gone, good news, I don't know. Trish
The treatment completely reversed cognitive impairment in 20 days
White MousePeople with Rheumatoid Arthritis are less likely to develop Alzheimers disease. A recent study in the Journal of Alzheimers Research showed that a protein associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis may be responsible. There is hope that the protein may be useful in treating Alzheimers disease. An artificial version of the protein, nicknamed GM-CSF, is already being used in a drug called Leukine to increase immune cells in some cancer patients. That is encouraging to researchers since Leukine is already considered safe in humans.
Will a byproduct of Rheumatoid Arthritis reverse Alzheimers symptoms?
In a 20 day study at the University of South Florida, researchers used mice with an Alzheimers-like condition and normal healthy mice. Some mice were treated with GM-CSF and others received a placebo. The sick mice treated with the protein increased memory performance to a practically normal level. Even the healthy mice showed improvement. Placebo treated mice did not improve.
It seems people with RA have an abundance of natural scavengers (microglia) to clean up toxic substances. That is why people with RA have such clean minds, right? Actually, the trash collectors are really important. The brains of the Alzheimers mice benefitted because of a drastic decrease (over 50%) in the substance which forms harmful plaques, beta amyloid. There were even increased nerve cell connections in the treated mice.
Science Daily: The researchers suggest that GM-CSF boosted during the immune system overdrive of rheumatoid arthritis helps harness the beneficial properties of inflammation in the brain. The protein may do this by recruiting more microglia from the peripheral blood into the brain to remove Alzheimers plaques, Dr. Potter said. An apparent increase in neural cell connections in the brains of the GM-CSF-treated mice may also help explain GM-CSFs association with improving memory decline in Alzheimers disease, the researchers said.
Memory loss and brain fog of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Some Rheumatoid Arthritis patients may question the findings of this study because of their personal experience with memory problems associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Ive personally worried about Alzheimers because Ive struggled with short term memory the last few years. There must be another reason that many RA patients experience memory problems. Experiencing memory problems doesnt always mean Alzheimers; just as experiencing a joint problem doesnt necessarily mean RA. This is one less worry for us.
Pictures of the Alzheimers / Rheumatoid Arthritis study
Alzheimer's Rheumatoid Arthritis experimentsYou can see lots of cool slides of mouse brains and colorful charts illustrating the Alzheimers / Rheumatoid Arthritis study in a supplemental data PDF prepared by the authors. Maybe youre wondering how the researchers measured the memory power of mice. This screenshot from their PDF will give you an idea. Im wondering whether mice who were healed remember having Alzheimers before they were treated. Do they know how lucky they are? Apparently its much easier to
The treatment completely reversed cognitive impairment in 20 days
White MousePeople with Rheumatoid Arthritis are less likely to develop Alzheimers disease. A recent study in the Journal of Alzheimers Research showed that a protein associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis may be responsible. There is hope that the protein may be useful in treating Alzheimers disease. An artificial version of the protein, nicknamed GM-CSF, is already being used in a drug called Leukine to increase immune cells in some cancer patients. That is encouraging to researchers since Leukine is already considered safe in humans.
Will a byproduct of Rheumatoid Arthritis reverse Alzheimers symptoms?
In a 20 day study at the University of South Florida, researchers used mice with an Alzheimers-like condition and normal healthy mice. Some mice were treated with GM-CSF and others received a placebo. The sick mice treated with the protein increased memory performance to a practically normal level. Even the healthy mice showed improvement. Placebo treated mice did not improve.
It seems people with RA have an abundance of natural scavengers (microglia) to clean up toxic substances. That is why people with RA have such clean minds, right? Actually, the trash collectors are really important. The brains of the Alzheimers mice benefitted because of a drastic decrease (over 50%) in the substance which forms harmful plaques, beta amyloid. There were even increased nerve cell connections in the treated mice.
Science Daily: The researchers suggest that GM-CSF boosted during the immune system overdrive of rheumatoid arthritis helps harness the beneficial properties of inflammation in the brain. The protein may do this by recruiting more microglia from the peripheral blood into the brain to remove Alzheimers plaques, Dr. Potter said. An apparent increase in neural cell connections in the brains of the GM-CSF-treated mice may also help explain GM-CSFs association with improving memory decline in Alzheimers disease, the researchers said.
Memory loss and brain fog of Rheumatoid Arthritis
Some Rheumatoid Arthritis patients may question the findings of this study because of their personal experience with memory problems associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Ive personally worried about Alzheimers because Ive struggled with short term memory the last few years. There must be another reason that many RA patients experience memory problems. Experiencing memory problems doesnt always mean Alzheimers; just as experiencing a joint problem doesnt necessarily mean RA. This is one less worry for us.
Pictures of the Alzheimers / Rheumatoid Arthritis study
Alzheimer's Rheumatoid Arthritis experimentsYou can see lots of cool slides of mouse brains and colorful charts illustrating the Alzheimers / Rheumatoid Arthritis study in a supplemental data PDF prepared by the authors. Maybe youre wondering how the researchers measured the memory power of mice. This screenshot from their PDF will give you an idea. Im wondering whether mice who were healed remember having Alzheimers before they were treated. Do they know how lucky they are? Apparently its much easier to
Sure I get sniffles and runny noses - but they are always accompanied by itchy eyes. Overdrive immune system reacting to ragweed pollen :)
60 Minutes did an interesting piece on Alzheimer's tonight. They were tracing 60,000 seniors from Leisure World (down in So. Cal) from the 80's to the present and found that a number of them had the plaque and tangled stuff in their brains, but still did not exhibit symptoms of Alzheimer's. On the other hand, there were some who didn't have the plaque and entanglement and did show signs of dementia. Sounds like another thing they really don't have answers for yet.