Page 47 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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electrical charge launches a cascade of chemical reactions that eventually lead to cell death. Free
radicals are constantly produced by chemical reactions throughout the body, and both stress and a
diet high in saturated fats increase free radical formation. The most common free radicals are
hydrogen peroxide, which is formed when a molecule of water gets an extra oxygen atom, as well as
oxygen itself.

Oxygen is essential for life, but the addition of an unpaired electron makes it toxic to cells in the
body. Dr. Jekyll turns into Mr. Hyde, and life-giving oxygen metamorphoses into a merciless killer.

If toxic free radicals are continually being formed in our bodies, how do we survive? As with
everything else, nature has provided a counterbalance to deal with this threat. Enzymes called free
radical scavengers, notably superoxide dismutase, routinely destroy the free radicals that are formed.
These enzymes decline with age, and a gradual imbalance develops, with free radicals gaining the
upper hand. Many therapies are based on the idea that decreasing free radical toxicity will slow down
the aging process. For example, vitamin E is the most widely used antioxidant, and it destroys the
bad oxygen when it appears in the body. Melatonin also possesses some antioxidant properties, as
does the prescription medication selegiline (Deprenyl). These substances can help prevent the
ravages of the aging process, and memory loss in particular.

Genes versus Environment

Some people have an excellent memory for words, others for numbers, and still others for music. But
are there genes that regulate how the brain ages? Do genes give us our memory power during our
youth? And as we age, to what extent do genes control or program the time when nerve cells
degenerate in the hippocampus and frontal lobes? We are waiting for the answers to these questions,
because only then will it become possible to translate this genetic knowledge into practical,
therapeutic interventions.

George Burns drank like a fish, smoked like a chimney, and did a few more exciting things on the
side. Nevertheless, he lived to be over a hundred; obviously he had good longevity genes. Inherent
genetic variability influences not only longevity but also intellectual functions and memory, so that a
fifty-year-old may have the brain of an eighty-five-year-old, and vice versa. But in addition to
genetic influences, environmental factors can magnify, and sometimes directly