An Interesting Study
In 2008, a study was released showing that nicotine may slow dementia in its early stages. The study was done on rats and tested if a task could be completed successfully with or without nicotine as well as with or without distractions.
Jumping forward to this week, a new article appeared on the BBC indicating that this line of study has continued. The new study has investigated the use of nicotine patches as a cognitive boost for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), also known as "pre-dementia." The new study is small, only involving 67 people. However, preliminary findings indicate a gain back to normal performance for age on long-term memory. The findings were not statistically significant which means that the results don't rule out chance results and studies need to continue for a longer time and with more study subjects.
The interesting thing in all this is that the nicotine slots into certain receptors in the brain which are lost in Alzheimer's patients. I wonder if the introduction of nicotine, particularly in non-smokers, is stimulating activity in the brain and this activity itself is leading to the slight slowing of dementia. Is nicotine like exercise for the brain cells?
Now, given that there is a potential therapeutic benefit to the use of nicotine, I'd be remiss if I didn't also point out that nicotine is addictive and toxic. So, don't start smoking in the hopes of getting a bit of a cognitive boost. The additional health risks really aren't worth it.
Jumping forward to this week, a new article appeared on the BBC indicating that this line of study has continued. The new study has investigated the use of nicotine patches as a cognitive boost for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), also known as "pre-dementia." The new study is small, only involving 67 people. However, preliminary findings indicate a gain back to normal performance for age on long-term memory. The findings were not statistically significant which means that the results don't rule out chance results and studies need to continue for a longer time and with more study subjects.
The interesting thing in all this is that the nicotine slots into certain receptors in the brain which are lost in Alzheimer's patients. I wonder if the introduction of nicotine, particularly in non-smokers, is stimulating activity in the brain and this activity itself is leading to the slight slowing of dementia. Is nicotine like exercise for the brain cells?
Now, given that there is a potential therapeutic benefit to the use of nicotine, I'd be remiss if I didn't also point out that nicotine is addictive and toxic. So, don't start smoking in the hopes of getting a bit of a cognitive boost. The additional health risks really aren't worth it.
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