A new research project is studying brain diseases in mice by changing their blood to a fluorescent hue, making it easier to observe how the blood flow interacts with the brain in certain instances.
This new research comes out of the University of Copenhagen. And it’s not quite as far-fetched as you might think. There are already creatures out there that have fluorescent blood, including jellyfish and salamanders. Their blood is like that because of a certain protein that is present. Implanting those proteins into mice allows researchers to better observe blood flow in mice, and as a result, potentially learn more about diseases such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and more.
Mice are especially helpful when it comes to studying the human brain. Although mice might look to be very different from humans, there are a lot of shared similarities in this respect. Additionally, mice age much more quickly than people do. What might take years to study in a human can be learned in just a few days with mice. They can also be studied on a very large scale as they are small creatures and quite cheap to raise. They are one of the first lines of defense when it comes to medical research for these reasons.
Prior to this approach, researchers were using chemicals so that they could observe blood moving throughout the body. They believe that this new method will be more accurate and help doctors to more precisely understand mammals’ brains. Additionally, dyes didn’t last very long. The new protein method is permanent, making research a lot easier to conduct.
Finally, researchers believe that this is a more ethical approach than past methods. It encourages less invasive research methods, allowing the mice to live pain-free lives and not have to undergo constant injections of dye. This improvement in their quality of life will make future observations less tainted because of the overall higher quality of health that they will enjoy.
What’s more, the process is fairly easy. It’s something that mammalian bodies already do, researchers have just learned how to trick the body to do it in large enough quantities to change the blood. There’s a process that occurs within the liver. The Copenhagen team has learned how to coax the liver into creating more of these fluorescent proteins to help researchers be more productive.
The brain is the subject of a lot of issues when it comes to the elderly. Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are especially hot topics when it comes to senior care. Dementia has a tremendous impact on the way that someone lives their lives. We believe that the right approach to senior care can make life a lot easier. There’s no cure for many types of dementia, although research like what was outlined above is helping us to get closer to a cure. But senior care that focuses on meeting the needs of someone suffering from dementia can make life easier for the whole family, even if a cure isn’t possible.
If you’d like to talk with us here at Paradise In-Home Care, we’d be happy to talk more about how our caregivers provide in-home care to those suffering from dementia or other cognitive issues. Our consultation sessions are completely free and designed to help get you pointed in the right direction.
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