Connections between a brain protein that’s been known for some time and ageing-related health conditions turned up recently in experiments by Chinese researchers. It’s a good thing: Menin may reverse inflammation, cognitive decline, weak bones, and thinning skin…
Do you worry about signs of aging such as osteoporosis? Declining strength
and stamina? Memory instability? A treatment may be in the wings…
What do you think of as ‘signs of aging? Memory instability? Strength loss? Reduced stamina? Osteoporosis? ‘Chicken Skin’? Chinese researchers may have found the key to avoiding – maybe even reversing – these common aggravations of growing older…
What they did
Science has known, for some time, that the hypothalamus, a small region deep in the brain, helps coordinate metabolism and other essential functions. Now researchers from Xiamen University in Xiamen, China, say the region also appears to influence how the body ages.
Lead investigator Lige Leng and colleagues had previousy found that he protein Menin helps restrain inflammation in the hypothalamus. That raised an important question: Could losing some of this protection help set age-related decline in motion? They also looked at the effects of an essential amino acid, D-serine, on the hypothalamus.
The team undertook mouse-based experiments to test their theory…
What they found
Restoring Menin reversed several age-related changes, while the amino acid D-serine improved cog-nition, hinting at a potentially intriguing new target for healthy aging.
“As inflammatory signaling increases in this region, it can contribute to changes both within the brain and in tissues elsewhere in the body,” an abstract of the study report explains.
Other studies have also revealed connections between the hypothalamus and aging.
The takeaway
“We speculate that the decline of Menin expression in the hypothalamus with age may be one of the driving factors of aging, and Menin may be the key protein connecting the genetic, inflammatory, and metabolic factors of aging,” Leng concludes. “D-serine is a potentially promising therapeutic for cog-nitive decline.”
My take
More research is obviously needed. Leng’s team has only proved their theory in mice. Additional testing, culminating in human trials of viable drugs and supplements, must now be undertaken be-fore any sort of Menin or D-serine meds appear on the market.
But I’ll be first in line for a preventive prescription of either – or both – when the time comes!
~ Maggie J.