This is an interesting article on Alzheimers. The reason I'm posting it is because it's also about nuns. It portrays nuns matter-of-factly, not as heroes or demons. Thought that might be a nice change of pace.
May 7, 2001
Nuns Offer Clues to Alzheimer's and Aging
By PAM BELLUCK
ANKATO, Minn., May 2 — A spiraling road slopes gently up to Good Counsel Hill, where the convent of the School Sisters of Notre Dame perches peacefully. Within its thick red brick walls are bright paintings of nuns and children. Organ hymns waft from a circular chapel, and nuns attend Mass and murmur rosaries under a white vaulted dome.
But this crucible of faith is also the site of an extraordinary scientific experiment. For 15 years, elderly Catholic nuns here have had their genes analyzed and balance and strength measured. They have been tested on how many words they can remember minutes after reading them on flashcards, how many animals they can name in a minute and whether they can count coins correctly.
The autobiographical essays they wrote for their order in their 20's, when they took their vows, have been scrutinized, their words plumbed for meaning. And as they have died, their brains have been removed and shipped in plastic tubs to a laboratory where they are analyzed and stored in jars.
The experiment, called the Nun Study, is considered by experts on aging to be one of the most innovative efforts to answer questions about who gets Alzheimer's disease and why. And now in a new report it is offering insight on a different subject — whether a positive emotional outlook early in life can help people live longer.
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nytimes.com |
