Mice are Nice

May 19, 2011 - Trish Vradenburg
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It's true. I used to hate those rodents with the wiggly whiskers and the long tail who could, if they bit me, give me rabies. While everyone else adored the Disney animated feature, "Ratatouille," I was repelled by it. I mean, who cares that Remy (the hero) is the most talented chef in Paree? I have no interest in having either a rat or mouse (probably a sous-chef) get their little whiskers in my quiche.

But I'm reevaluating my thinking.

Dr. Frank LaFerla, Ph.D, a world-renowned leader in Alzheimer•s disease research has published research that shows that a mouse•s neural stem cells enhance memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer's. Now he's going to replicate these results using human neural stem cell. In other words, you would remember more than you ever remembered. I could access that globe I couldn't get on top of my whole life, and now remember the world I only glanced at - photographic memory in reverse.

Okay, maybe I'm going too far, so let it be known that I just totally would accept an AD patient coming out of her haze with her old memory intact. That's not asking too much, right?

And so I now like mice. They are helping to find a cure. Bravo Ratatouille! Bring on the quiche.

About the Author

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Trish Vradenburg

UsAgainstAlzheimer's is a 501(c)(3) organization connecting networks of organizations and individuals to take action to end Alzheimer’s by 2020, while providing the general public, policy leaders and the media with vital information about Alzheimer’s disease.