Bossy-Wetzel said the brain has 100 billion neurons. A person loses neurons throughout the process of aging. Diseases and injuries, such as Huntington’s chorea, strokes, Dominant Optic Atrophy and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Syndrome, can cause the loss or fragmentation of neurons. The brain cannot make new neurons during one’s life span, but fragmentation may be reversible, she said.<\/p>\n
Weight was a reoccurring topic as Bossy-Wetzel also discussed how one’s diet could affect the longevity of their life. Eat less and live longer, Bossy-Wetzel said.<\/p>\n
“I’m not talking about starvation,” she said, emphasizing that caloric restriction and high nutrition are the keys to good health.<\/p>\n
At the close of her speech, Bossy-Wetzel encouraged young listeners to become scientists.<\/p>\n
“We need your talent,” she said. “There is a desperate need of treatment for degenerative diseases.”<\/p>\n
These comments were most likely directed to the busload of students from St. Edwards High School that drove two hours from Vero Beach to hear Bossy-Wetzel speak.<\/p>\n