/oss/taxonomy/term/1581/all en /oss/article/health/prevagen-mental-clarity <p>Wouldn’t we all like to have healthy brain function, a sharper mind and clearer thinking? Of course w,e would. And a dietary supplement called Prevagen promises to deliver the goods, at least according to the ads that are featured in magazines and on CNN ad nauseum. The supposed “active” ingredient is a protein called “apoaequorin” that according to the marketer “was originally plucked from a variety of jellyfish.” That bit of info is meant to conjure up an image of safety, catering to the notoriously false belief that natural substances are somehow inherently safer than synthetic ones.</p> Mon, 14 Jan 2019 16:15:40 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7534 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-quackery/galantamine <p>Victims of Alzheimer’s disease experience a continuous degeneration of nerve cells. Most of the nerve cells affected are responsible for releasing acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter believed to be mainly responsible for memory and learning. In order to prevent the loss of acetylcholine, galantamine, a competitive and reversible cholinesterase inhibitor is used as a medication. Galantamine reduces the activity of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase thus preventing the degradation of acetylcholine and maintaining an increased level of this neurotransmitter in the brain.</p> Fri, 02 Jun 2017 16:29:17 +0000 OSS 2529 at /oss