[00:00.44]From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
[00:06.96]In the future, chemicals from plants found in and around the Mediterranean
[00:13.52]may be used to help treat people with brain diseases
[00:18.68]such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
[00:23.76]These two diseases are age-related and neurodegenerative.
[00:30.48]Neurodegenerative relates to the degeneration of nervous tissue,  especially the brain.
[00:39.07]People suffering from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
[00:44.11]have deposits of sticky plaque in their brains.
[00:48.51]Over time, this plaque reduces brain function.
[00:53.81]Eventually, it causes death.
[00:58.40]But scientists say the plaque deposits can be reduced
[01:03.55]with chemicals from plants, including prickly pear and brown seaweed.
[01:11.56]Scientists say the chemicals ¡ª or, extracts ¡ª appear to replace
[01:17.68]the harmful, sticky plaque with deposits that are less harmful.
[01:23.88]These scientists are researchers at the University of Malta
[01:29.00]and the National Center of Scientific Research at the University of Bordeaux.
[01:36.96]They tested the chemical extracts of the plants
[01:40.68]on a substance called Brewer's yeast.
[01:44.83]This yeast had plaque deposits similar to those seen in Alzheimer's disease.
[01:53.16]Scientists say the health of the yeast improved greatly
[01:58.21]after exposure to the chemical extracts.
[02:02.80]Researchers then tested the extracts in fruit flies
[02:07.16]that were genetically changed to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's.
[02:13.32]They found that when the flies were given brown seaweed extract,
[02:18.04]their lifespans increased by two days.
[02:22.40]Prickly pear helped the insects live four days longer.
[02:28.26]That may not sound like a long time.
[02:32.56]However, the researchers remind us that one day in the life of a fruit fly
[02:38.84]is equal to one human year.
[02:43.44]Researchers also noted that movement in some diseased insects improved.
[02:51.25]They reported their findings in the journal Neuroscience Letters.
[02:58.48]Researchers say that the sticky plaques in both Alzheimer's  and Parkinson's diseases
[03:06.36]appear to form through the same biological pathways.
[03:11.72]Targeting these pathways, they say, is the best way to fight the diseases.
[03:19.48]The lead author of the study is Ruben Cauchi of the University of Malta's
[03:25.44]Center for Molecular Medicine and Biobanking.
[03:30.16]He says the Mediterranean plant extracts
[03:33.96]are already used in health foods and some cosmetics.
[03:39.22]So, they are very safe.
[03:42.40]The research team is working with a company that extracts the chemicals
[03:48.13]for commercial use as so-called "fountain of youth" products.
[03:53.89]And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
[03:57.32]I'm Anna Matteo.