Memory loss reversed in mice

The breakthrough could eventually lead to new treatments for people with Alzheimer's disease.

The findings were made in mice genetically altered to develop dementia.

The mice were designed so that their dementia could be "turned off" by turning off the gene behind the symptoms.

While the researchers thought that turning off the gene would stop memory loss, they didn't expect what followed after the switch was thrown: The symptoms of dementia were reversed, and the mice actually regained memory.

"Most Alzheimer's disease treatments focus on slowing the symptoms or preventing the disease from progressing, but our research suggests that in the future we may be able to reverse the effects of memory loss, even in patients who have lost brain or neural tissue," says study lead author Karen Ashe of the University of Minnesota.

According to a University of Minnesota press release, the mice provide a model of how Alzheimer's progresses and the findings suggest that the same memory reversal they experienced may be possible in humans—that people with Alzheimer's disease could recover memory and improve cognitive function if their disease's progression were halted.

The study is reported in the journal Science.