Horizon
Season 53 Episode 9 - Curing Alzheimer's
Horizon investigates a new era of Alzheimer's research, which is bringing hope to millions of sufferers across the world. New scanning and gene technology is allowing scientists to identify the disease at its earliest stages, often 15 years before symptoms appear and the brain cells are destroyed. A series of new drugs trials in Colombia, the USA and Europe are showing startling success in reducing beta amyloid, the protein which is a hallmark of the disease. It is also becoming clear that changes in lifestyle can prevent the development of the disease. A new system inside the brain has been discovered which clears amyloid when we are in deep sleep, but allows it to accumulate if we don't sleep well. The programme reveals that for sufferers in the early stages of the disease, brain connections, or synapses, can be strengthened and even replaced by absorbing enough of the right nutrients. A UK-wide trail helps sufferers in the early stages to concentrate on improving everyday tasks, and in the process not only make their lives easier, but helps to reactivate the planning and organisational parts of the brain. In an aging world, where the biggest risk of developing Alzheimer's is old age, the scientific breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease are bringing hope where once there was despair.
Episodes in Season 53
The Immortalist
60 min
Project Greenglow - The Quest for Gravity Control
60 min
The Mystery of Dark Energy
60 min
Oceans of the Solar System
60 min
The End of the Solar System
60 min
Should We Close Our Zoos?
60 min
How to Find Love Online
60 min
Ice Station Antarctica
60 min
Curing Alzheimer's
60 min
E-Cigarettes: Miracle or Menace?
60 min
Why Are We Getting So Fat?
60 min
Sports Doping - Winning At Any Cost?
60 min
Inside CERN
60 min
My Amazing Twin
60 min
The Lost Tribes of Humanity
60 min
The Wildest Weather in the Universe
60 min
