Nuns' brains aid Alzheimer's research

star telegram ^ | 12.22.07 | stephanie reitz

[Coleus]

WILTON, Conn. -- When Sister Kathleen Treanor's soul ascends to heaven, her brain will go to a less ethereal realm: a medical lab in Kentucky. Two decades ago, Sister Treanor and 677 other members of the School Sisters of Notre Dame granted a young researcher's request to test them each year to track the progression of Alzheimer's disease and other age-related brain disorders.

 

The 61 surviving nuns recently completed their last round of intellectual and physical tests for the Nun Study, one of the world's most comprehensive neurological research projects.  One final sacrifice remains: When they die, their brains will be taken for further study, joining a collection of hundreds of other brains donated by the nuns who died before them.Sister Treanor, a 93-year-old former school principal who is one of the last of the volunteers at a Wilton convent, looks at her participation as service, not sacrifice.

 

"I've tried to do good while I'm alive, and I liked the idea that I could do something good after death," she said. With the modesty of their calling, the nuns attribute the study's success to the researcher, Dr. David Snowdon, playing down their countless hours of interviews and testing over the decades. "I never minded having my brain checked out. It kept me out of trouble," said Sister Antoine Daniel, 96.

 

The sisters also say that while God gets their souls when they die, they are comfortable -- even comforted -- to know that Snowdon has dibs on their brains. "I think of the overall picture of what good could come out of it," said Sister Alberta Sheridan, 92. Snowdon has also researched the levels of folic acid in the blood of deceased nuns with and without dementia, why nuns with positive attitudes and creative verbal skills tend to live longer than their less optimistic peers, and other questions. "We'll continue to learn from the sisters for many, many years to come," he said.

Getting the nuns to donate their brains was crucial because the only indisputable diagnosis of Alzheimer's comes from examining a patient's brain after death.

 

Research tool

 

One reason the nuns are such a valuable research tool is that as members of the same religious order, they all had decades of similar medical histories. Almost nine out of 10 had been teachers.

Finding such a uniform pool of test subjects in the general population is difficult.

About half the nuns developed Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia before they died, about similar to the general population.

 

Early results

 

Personal challenges: Researchers say David Snowdon's work has already produced interesting results, including a finding that people who challenge themselves intellectually can apparently delay or prevent the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms.

 

Predisposition: His work also suggests that in people predisposed to Alzheimer's, a stroke or head trauma can speed the disease's progression -- an argument for wearing seat belts, helmets and other protective gear. Source: The Nun Study, www.mc.uky.edu/nunnet

[UB355]

http://www.ssnd-milw.org/NDEG.htm

I am a Vol Firefighter in the community where their N American headquarters are located.

Over the years we have had a large number of false alarms at their facility mostly due to burned popcorn.

[Bahbah]

This kind of study had also been done with Nuns in Minnesota. Many had been teachers. All had remained intellectually active in one way or another.

The study showed that they had brain scans that indicated the disease but none had symptoms. I thought that was interesting.

[Talking_Mouse]

Haven’t they heard of jiffypop (if they don’t want to use microwaves)?

[doc1019]

Even jiffypop will set off a smoke alarm if left on the stove to long. ;-)

[Freee-dame]

I hope this study will help in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. It is a brutal diagnosis for anyone.

[Marie2]

I have long been conviced of the Use It Or Lose It argument. When I see elderly in my family living in front of the tv I despair. I watch tv, too, but it has to be limited. You have to get up, walk, make your food, clean up, do your laundry, interact with various people, get outside. . .then watch a little tv. My mother in law lives in her chair, and she can’t remember a thing any more.

[maine-iac7]

burned popcorn.

i.e. short term memory lapses

I'd be in constant peril of burned popcorn, over-running tubs, wood stove getting too hot before dampering down, burned dry pots, etc,. were it not for my whistling teakettle and timer...Although I'm about ready to get a second timer to remind me to set my timer -

[maine-iac7]

About half the nuns developed Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia before they died, about similar to the general population.

Not the results the researcher expected when going in - after spending 20 years in his attempt to find the opposite.

Back to the drawing board...

[UB355]

On occasion a nun would set off the alarm while using a hot plate or toaster in their rooms. The funniest thing was we wold get there to investigate and the offending nun would be no where to be found.

[squidly]

There is definitely something to that. My uncle is the sharpest 86 yr old man I have known. He walks, reads heavy stuff, gardens, and does a crossword puzzle every day. He is the first to tell you that he has to go out of his way to keep his mind active, lest the alternative come to fruition.

[Emmett McCarthy]

Well, when I tried hiding from them it never worked real well.

[metmom]

I was listening to a Focus on the Family episode that was discussing Alzheimer’s and they commented that one of the early indicators of this was extreme, particular neatness as a child. It was the kid that had their desk in perfect order all the time; the teacher’s dream student, room always perfectly clean and organized, that kind of thing.

The doctors discussing this stated that when they asked about neatness, there was an unusually high incidence of this.

I’m safe.

[metmom]

health ping

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

About half the nuns developed Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia before they died, about similar to the general population.

Half of the original 677? That's surprising. There must be something in their environment that is causing it. I find it hard to believe that half of the general population develops Alzheimer's disease.

[neverdem]

Thanks for the post & ping.

[metmom]

That does seem a little bit high.

[wintertime]

ping for later