A substance that is found in fruits and vegetables from berries to cucumbers stop memory loss that comes with Alzheimer's illness in rats, scientists have found. In tests on rats that normally develop Alzheimer's illness signs less than a year afterbirth, an everyday dose of the substance -- a flavonol known as fisetin -- avoided the progressive memory and studying problems. The medication, however, did not change forming amyloid plaques in the brain, collections of necessary proteins, which are generally held responsible for Alzheimer's illness.

A substance that is found in fruits and vegetables from berries to cucumbers stop memory loss that comes with Alzheimer's illness in rats, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Research have found. In tests on rats that normally create Alzheimer's illness signs less than a season afterbirth, an everyday amount of the substance -- -a flavonol known as fisetin -- -prevented the modern storage and studying problems. The medication, however, did not change developing amyloid plaques in the mind, collections of necessary proteins, which are generally held responsible for Alzheimer's illness. The new finding shows a way to cure Alzheimer's illness symptoms individually of focusing on amyloid plaques.

"We had already shown that in normal animals, fisetin can improve memory," says Pamela Maher, a senior staff researcher in Salk's Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory who led the new study. "What we revealed here is that it also can have an effect on animals vulnerable to Alzheimer's illness."

More than a several years ago, Maher found that fisetin helps secure nerves in the mind from the results of getting older. She and her colleagues have since -- -in both separated cell cultures and mouse studies -- -probed how the substance has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory results on cells in the brain. Most recently, they found that fisetin changes on a cellular pathway known to be engaged in memory.

"What we noticed is that fisetin has various qualities that we thought might be helpful when it comes to Alzheimer's illness," says Maher.