"These are significant findings":
according to a study conducted in Scotland, researchers found that dolphins can develop classic symptoms of Alzheimer's, which damages the nervous system and mainly causes damage to memory.
This is a joint study from the University of Glasgow, the University of St Andrews and Edinburgh.
At the same time, at the Moredun Research Institute in Scotland, they were surprised to discover three central phenomena in the brain activity of three animals that are linked to Alzheimer's disease after examining the bodies of 22 dolphins.
Dolphins under the surface of the water // Photo: Guy Levian,
The researchers believe that this could explain why groups of marine mammals are drifting towards the coast, although the leading theory was that it was a result of the increasing noise in the oceans.
Now, the new findings may support the "sick leader" thesis and explain why large groups of healthy dolphins swim ashore following a leader who has become lost or confused.
Dr. Mark Dagleish from the University of Glasgow: "These are significant findings that show for the first time that the pathology of the brain is similar to the brains of humans affected by clinical Alzheimer's disease", however, this is not a clear statement and the expert admitted that "further research must be done to better understand what happens to them Animals".
One of the marine mammals found to have Alzheimer's symptoms was a 40-year-old dolphin.
Prof. Tara Spears-Jones, from the University of Edinburgh, explains in this context that "we were fascinated to see brain changes in older dolphins similar to those in human aging and Alzheimer's disease. Whether these pathological changes contribute to the drifting of these animals is an interesting and important question for future work."
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