Brain aging, an irreversible process?

Authors

  • Antonia Gutiérrez Spain

Abstract

The world population is aging rapidly. Aging brain is associated with cognitive and memory impairments which are linked, not to a general loss of neurons, but to synaptic changes and reduction in adult stem/progenitor cells and neurogenesis. Aging is the strongest risk factor for the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that culminates in dementia and total dependence of patients and for which effective pharmacological treatment is not yet available. The number of elderly people over 80 years is projected to triple globally by 2050 and nearly half will be afflicted with AD. The
effects of aging were traditionally thought to be immutable, however current research provides an increasing body of evidence supporting extrinsic systemic manipulations such as physical exercise, caloric restriction, and changing blood composition by heterochronic parabiosis or young plasma administration to have the potential to counteract this age-related loss of plasticity in the mice aged brain, significantly improving memory and cognition. Therefore, potential systemic rejuvenating factors may constitute the basis for future therapies to reverse cognitive decline during aging and neurodegenerative diseases.

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References

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Published

2016-12-14

How to Cite

Gutiérrez, A. (2016). Brain aging, an irreversible process?. Encuentros En La Biología, 9(160), 165–174. Retrieved from https://revistas.uma.es/index.php/enbio/article/view/17932

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Artículos