IUBio

Theoretical lifespan of the human brain?

Heino Prinz heino.prinz at mpi-dortmund.mpg.de
Wed Apr 16 10:44:15 EST 1997


On Wed, 16 Apr 1997 03:27:19 +0000 (GMT+1), "Sveinung W. Tengelsen"
<pixeleye at sn.no> wrote:

>
>The subject says it - I've heard that the potential lifespan of the
>human brain is quite a bit longer than that of the rest of our body.
>Can anyone confirm/deny this?
>
Alzheimer's disease affects a large proportion of our older
population. It is a metabolic disease of the brain and probably is
related to its inability to refold partially unfolded proteins. Unlike
other tissues, the brain has a relatively low rate of protein
synthesis and therfore lacks the chaperones to assist proper
re-folding.

The 85 years of the life- span of average healthy people is largely
caused by the contribution of Alzheimer's disease. The average life
span of the brain therefore should be around this figure.

Viele Gruesse		Heino Prinz


Tel.:(+49)-231-1206-332   Fax:(+49)-231-1206-389



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