“Scientists believe they may have discovered the secret of restoring lost memory,” the Daily Express has reported.
That is believed to find out a method named ‘memory restoring’ molecule.
A research in mice that has identified a molecule called miR-34c that when is blocked, both mice with an Alzheimer-like brain condition are improved. However, it did not “restore memories”, rather it improved the mice’s ability to learn from their environment.
But, for human brain tissue, it is not always easy to obtain, and early tests of new treatments need to be carried out in animals before they can be tested in humans. However, there are differences between the species that mean that results in mice may not be representative of what would happen in humans. In particular, Alzheimer’s disease is a complex disease, and mouse models may not be fully representative of its complexity.
However, when analysing tissue samples from people with Alzheimer’s and healthy elderly people the researchers found that that those with Alzheimer’s disease had increased levels of miR-34c in a region of the brain important to memory. This supports the theory that miR-34c could play a role in learning and memory in humans as well, although much more research will be needed to determine if this is the case.
See more: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/09September/Pages/alzheimers-dementia-memory-restore-claim.aspx