11–20 of 144 posts
it's a great day for mouse health
You say that tongue in cheek, but as a non-scientist, I've always wondered how much "mouse science" ultimately translates to humans. My guess is it's very low, but knowing a percentage would help me better understand how to proceed reports like this.
The title is "EPPS rescues hippocampus-dependent cognitive deficits in APP/PS1 mice by disaggregation of amyloid-β oligomers and plaques" and it does not say that it reduces memory, it says "EPPS reduces Aβ-aggregate-induced memory deficits in mice" but they also say that "We observed substantial rescue of working memory deficits in Aβ-infused mice by EPPS treatment" . Of course this is only small part of the paper a…
The diagramme showing how much memory is recovered is figure one. White is before the administration of the "Alzheimer's protein" (AB protein), black is without the new clearing chemical, blue is with it, and then the different blue columns showing different concentrations. Fig 1c is prophylactic treatment (clearing molecule administered before, during and after the AB protein), Fig 1d is clearing molecule administered alongside AB protein. The impairment seems to more or less recover fully back up to where it was originally, in all four combinations of timing and clearing molecule concentration.
But bear in mind:
* The mouse model for Alzheimer's seems to be very, very simplified - as far as I can see they literally inject big doses of these proteins directly into the brain in order to induce Alzheimer's like symptoms, that doesn't mean this is equivalent at all to the complex chemical processes underlying Alzheimer's. AB proteins are observed in Alzheimer's patients, but they are also observed in healthy patients, and other proteins are also seen in Alzheimer's patients, some of which are recently thought more likely to be the underlying driver of the disease.
* All of this occurs over a very short period of time. Someone who has developed symptoms of Alzheimer's will have had the disease process occurring for many years beforehand. Recovery a few days after administration of the protein doesn't mean that damage would be recoverable years later.
Edit: I'm actually just looking at the first experiment, they also do longer term trials with a mouse model which has been genetically altered to over-expresses the AB protein. Arguably this is still a very over-simplified model, but it does more to address the time question. They say Alzheimer's symptoms usually develop at 5 months, then they administer the clearing molecule at 10.5 months for 3 months. Those experiments shows about half the deficit being recovered relative to normal age-matched mice.
Wow, you can buy some EPPS (the chemical in the article) here for £39.20? http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/54465?lang... Looks interesting research but I'm sure this stuff probably can't be that good for you!
Don't have the paper in front of me, but IIRC, the test dose ranged from 10mg/kg to 100mg/kg. A branch of the study looked for adverse effects at 2000mg/kg and found none. That indicates a very large therapeutic margin. Of course it's in mice, not people....
Wow, you can buy some EPPS (the chemical in the article) here for £39.20? http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/54465?lang... Looks interesting research but I'm sure this stuff probably can't be that good for you!
I'd take any health risks over dementia, personally, and I'm sure most would, too. Looking forward to the FDA blocking this on "safety" grounds.
If Alzheimer was simply a deficiency of nutrients, I wouldn't think this way, but if it really is a protein that "can be cleared", why did it get there in the first place?
it's a great day for mouse health
You say that tongue in cheek, but as a non-scientist, I've always wondered how much "mouse science" ultimately translates to humans. My guess is it's very low, but knowing a percentage would help me better understand how to proceed reports like this.
Wow, you can buy some EPPS (the chemical in the article) here for £39.20? http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/54465?lang... Looks interesting research but I'm sure this stuff probably can't be that good for you!
Don't have the paper in front of me, but IIRC, the test dose ranged from 10mg/kg to 100mg/kg. A branch of the study looked for adverse effects at 2000mg/kg and found none. That indicates a very large therapeutic margin. Of course it's in mice, not people....
2000mg/kg = 2, right?
Like 2kg of medicine for every one kg of body mass? That seems impossible to consume. Even 0.1 kg/kg seems really, really high.
Or is mg here used for micrograms rather than milligrams? So it's actually 2000 μg/kg.
Wow, you can buy some EPPS (the chemical in the article) here for £39.20? http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/54465?lang... Looks interesting research but I'm sure this stuff probably can't be that good for you!
Pretty sure Alzheimer's isn't good for you, either. I'd take any health risks over dementia, personally, and I'm sure most would, too. Looking forward to the FDA blocking this on "safety" grounds.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't have the paper in front of me, but IIRC, the test dose ranged from 10mg/kg to 100mg/kg. A branch of the study looked for adverse effects at 2000mg/kg and found none. That indicates a very large therapeutic margin. Of course it's in mice, not people....
Edit: Ok, ok, I totally screwed that up. Damnit. Sorry, everyone. Grams aren't kilograms. The freaking base unit shouldn't have a prefix. 2000mg/kg = 2, right? Like 2kg of medicine for every one kg of body mass? That seems impossible to consume. Even 0.1 kg/kg seems really, really high. Or is mg here used for micrograms rather than milligrams? So it's actually 2000 μg/kg.
No, 2000mg/kg = 0.002
> Like 2kg of medicine for every one kg of body mass?
No, 2g for every kg of body. And that's some safe limit, not therapeutic dose.
> Or is mg here used for micrograms rather than milligrams?
No, it's milligrams.