while high doses of radiation can be devastating to the human body, low doses — such as the levels produced by a typical ct scan — appear to be beneficial in certain circumstances. “numerous neurological disorders, including alzheimer’s disease, are thought to be caused in part by oxidative stress that damages all cells, including those in the brain,” said jerry cuttler, lead author of the study and a retired atomic energy of canada scientist. “we have natural protection systems to combat the damage, but they become less effective as we get older.
“each dose of radiation stimulates our natural protection systems to work harder — to produce more antioxidants that prevent oxidative damage, to repair more dna damage and to destroy more mutated cells.”
alzheimer’s disease
, the most common cause of dementia, is a degenerative condition that is believed to be the result of the accumulation of certain proteins in the brain that leads to the slow death of neurons. this process eventually produces symptoms of memory loss, difficulty thinking or problem solving and changes in mood and behaviour.
there are over 500,000 canadians
living with dementia today
with another 25,000 diagnosed with the progressive disease every year,
according to the alzheimer society
. two-thirds of those diagnosed over the age of 65 are women. with the rate at which the disease is growing, it costs over $12-billion a year to care for patients.