Scientists discover proteins in the brain that could reverse the effects of aging
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) may have discovered a cause of aging in the brain.
The culprit is a protein called Ferritin 1 light chain (FTL1), described as a protein associated with iron identified as a “pro-aging neuronal factor which alters cognition”.
The study, published in the journal Nature Agging, compared the way in which the genes and proteins of the hippocampus, the region of the brain responsible for learning and memory, have changed over time in old and young mice.
What people who live up to 100 years are in common, according to science
Elderly mice had a higher amount of FTL1, as well as fewer brain cell connections in the hippocampus and decreased cognitive capacities, according to a press release from the UCSF.
When FTL1 has increased artificially in young mice, their brain began to imitate the brains and behaviors of the old mice.
Scientists may have discovered what causes aging in the brain. (istock)
When the protein was reduced in the old mice, they “found their youth”, had more nerve cell connections and better performed memory tests.
FTL1 has also slowed down metabolism in hippocampal cells of the old mice.
Click here to register for our Health Newsletter
Researchers, however, discovered that the treatment of these cells with a metabolism stimulation compound prevented these effects.
When the protein was reduced in the old mice, they “found their youth”, had more nerve cell connections and better performed memory tests. (istock)
Saul Villeda, associate director of the UCSF Bakar Aging Research Institute and the main author of the newspaper, said that he considered these results as a “reversal of deficiency”.
“It is much more than simply delaying or preventing symptoms,” he said in a press release.
Click here to obtain the Fox News app
“We see more opportunities to relieve the worst consequences of old age. It is a moment full of hope of working on the biology of aging.”
Dr. Paul Sapphier, neurosurgeon and founder of coaxial neurosurgical specialist in New Jersey, described these results as “really interesting” in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Alzheimer’s disease is directly linked to an accumulation of amyloid proteins in the brain, has shown research. (istock)
“There is no doubt that when proteins accumulate in various parts of the brain, certain neurodegenerative disorders occur,” he said. “Alzheimer’s disease is directly linked to an accumulation of amyloid proteins in the brain.
“It is much more than simply delaying or preventing symptoms.”
“If there is a mechanism by which we can slow down and / or reverse the accumulation of this FTL1 protein in the hippocampus, which is the main center of memory of the brain, it goes without saying that we can improve / improve cognition.”
Previous research has shown that the modulation of sugar and proteins can reduce the rate of aging, stressed Sapphier.
For more health items, visit Foxnews.com/health.
“I support this research and I am sure there will finally be a breakthrough in this area,” he added.
The study was partly supported by the National Science Foundation, the Bakar Aging Research Institute and the National Institute of Aging.
