The industrialized world faces an unusual predicament. The demographic shift towards an ageing population, coupled with the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia (both of which cause cognitive decline), has led economists to estimate that by 2050, the entire economy of the industrialized world could be consumed by the costs of caring for the sick and elderly. What can be done to abate these dreaded neurodegenerative diseases and their socioeconomic effects? Until recently, only symptomatic approaches were available ― for example, cholinergic drugs for Alzheimer's disease, which mildly enhance memory by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. But the concept of 'brain protection' raises hope that neurons can be preserved from the ravages of neurodegenerative insults.
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