New research conducted by the United Kingdom and United States of America reveal that dolphins may be susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease. Dolphins have brains that are not dissimilar to humans. Signs that show the pathology of Alzheimer’s have been confirmed in the marine mammals.
Current research shows certain kinds of protein clusters, and some neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, can be an early indicator of Alzheimer’s. This is the first time dolphins have been discovered to share this pathology. The research was conducted due to other factors that led scientists to suspect dolphins might be at risk. Since dolphins can have a long life expectancy following their fertile periods, and have similar kinds of reactions to insulin and insulin resistance, scientists undertook the study.
The research was started over a decade ago, begun in Spain. A number of years of work led to researchers finding the connection between insulin resistance in dolphins and the resulting dysfunctions in metabolism. Combined with the discovery of the Alzheimer’s markers, current medical thinking is that diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s might not be illnesses that strike with age but instead are related to a long lifespan following fertile periods. That is, the longer a human or some animals might live following the child bearing portion of their life, could be a factor in these diseases occurring.
The discovery of Alzheimer’s markers in dolphins is changing how scientists view the disease’s cause #HealthStatus
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Key Points:
- 1Dolphins and human brains are similar in many ways the people realize.
- 2Stranded dolphins appearing to be lost were the first to be discovered.
- 3Alzheimer’s is a progressive illness that’s death toll has rose in the past few years.
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