Colorado School of Medicine researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the cognitive decline associated with aging, identifying a key mechanism that may be responsible for this process.
According to the study’s co-lead author, pharmacology professor Ulli Bayer of the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, this mechanism involves a misregulation of a brain protein called CaMKII, which plays a crucial role in memory and learning processes.
The study, published in the journal Science Signaling on Tuesday, brings to the fore potential pharmacological treatment strategies.
Using mouse models, the researchers observed that changes to the brain protein CaMKII led to cognitive effects similar to those found in the normal aging process.
Professor Bayer pointed out that aging in both mice and humans decreases a process called S-nitrosylation, which is the modification of a specific brain protein, including CaMKII.
“The current study demonstrates that a decrease in this modification of the CaMKII protein is sufficient to impair synaptic plasticity and memory in a manner similar to the aging process,” Professor Bayer explained.
In the normal aging process, nitric oxide levels in the body decrease, which in turn affects S-nitrosylation, leading to impairments in memory and learning abilities, the study concluded.
The authors of the research indicated that this finding opens up new perspectives in the development of drugs and therapeutic interventions that could restore normal levels of protein S-nitrosylation.
This approach could offer the possibility of temporarily treating or preventing cognitive decline related to the normal aging process, but experts emphasize that this solution could only be applied to age-related cognitive decline and not to conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
Source: 360medical.ro
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2023-08-03 09:46:46
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