Brain-derived cure for Alzheimer's US researchers have identified what they call a 'potent' naturally occurring protein that may pave the way for treating Alzheimer's disease and other dementia. Production of the protein, called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), appears to decrease as dementia sets in. However, rats and monkeys suffering from the equivalent of dementia that were injected with BDNF by the team from the University of California, San Diego, showed improved memory and cognitive skills, healthday.com reports. Schooling won't spare you dementia The more educated you are, the lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's, says researchers from Chicago's Rush University - but all that learning doesn't slow memory loss if dementia sets in. The team's conclusions are based on a 14-year study of about 6,500 people, aged 72 on average and with education levels ranging from about eight years to more than 16, WebMD reports. Powerful incentive to move People living within 50 metres of high-voltage power lines are at significantly greater risk of dying from Alzheimer's or senile dementia - and the longer they live there, the greater the risk, say Swiss researchers, based on an analysis of census and mortality data for almost the entire Swiss population. The University of Bern team has no idea why magnetic fields set up by long-distance power lines should increase the risk, Reuters reports. Flu fears overstated Streptococcus infection, rather than the flu virus, may have been responsible for most of the 50 million to 100 million deaths around the world during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, say US researchers, suggesting that dire predictions about new pandemics may be exaggerated, given the availability of antibiotics nowadays. People hit by influenza can develop a so-called superinfection involving a bacteria. In 1918, this was probably Streptococcus pneumoniae, says the team from Emory University in Atlanta, Reuters reports. Blue light with no UVs kills superbug Blue light stripped of dangerous UV frequencies still kills the difficult-to-treat superbug called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), say New York Institute of Technology researchers. They're not sure why blue light works or whether MRSA can develop a resistance to it. The team previously found that longer doses of blue were more effective, but with diminishing returns, WebMD reports. Testes risk for pot smokers Smoking marijuana may significantly increase the risk of developing testicular cancer, particularly an aggressive form of the disease, say US researchers, based on a study of more than 1,300 men. It's the first to examine a possible link, but the team from Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre says it's not definitive. However, marijuana users in the study were 70 per cent more likely to develop cancer of the testes, Reuters reports.
