UM atUM [S01-ep25]: From Alzheimer's Disease to the Charles Flahault Heritage Fund
This week on *AUM science*, Fabrice Caudron, a researcher at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Montpellier, is our guest. He and his team have just discovered that a plant-based substance may protect the neurons of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. In the second half of the program, Elizabeth Denton, a librarian, introduces us to the Charles Flahault heritage collection.
In France, it is estimated that 1,200,000 people may be affected by Alzheimer’s disease or a related condition. Currently, 750,000 people have been diagnosed—representing 23% of the population over the age of 80—the majority of whom are women. For most people, Alzheimer’s—named after the German doctor who discovered it in 1906—is primarily associated with memory loss.
On a personal note, I remember the day we realized that my grandmother was “losing her mind” —as we say back home—to a degree that went beyond what her age would suggest. “He had 7,000 cancer cells,” she had repeated to us about ten times in an hour while talking about a sick neighbor. A month and several tests later, the verdict came in: stage 2 Alzheimer’s, a degenerative disease with three stages. I later discovered that while memory loss was certainly the most striking symptom, it was unfortunately not the only one: behavioral, motor, and language disorders… These were caused by lesions in the central nervous system resulting from the malfunction of proteins essential to neurons and the formation of plaques or aggregates on those same neurons.
Fabrice Caudron is a researcher atthe Institute of Molecular Genetics in Montpellier. He and his team have just discovered that a substance found in a plant may be able to protect the neurons of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. He’ll explain everything to us over the next twenty minutes.
Recommended reading:
- Tripentadecanoin, a promising molecule for treating neurodegenerative diseases
- A rare natural lipid induces neuroglobin expression to prevent the toxicity of amyloid oligomers and retinal neurodegeneration
In the second half of the program, we’ll take you behind the scenes at the Science Library—more specifically, into the storage area that holds a few treasures, including the Charles Flahault Heritage Collection. This collection consists of photographic plates and prints taken during the famous botanist’s field trips. And it’s Elizabeth Denton, the library curator, who will guide us through these archives.
AtUM , you’ve got the schedule—let’s get started!
Production: Universityof Montpellier/Divergence FM
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: AlinePériault/Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting: Aline Périault
Editing: Bruno Bertrand
Director: AdelineFloch’
Tune in to the show “A LUM LA SCIENCE” on Divergence FM 93.9
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