Research in animals has shown that the blood of the young may counter some of the effects of aging in older brains like improving learning and memory, as well as generating new brain cells. Now, the scientists want to see if the young blood is improving old brains in people.
“The possibility that one or many proteins in young human blood can rejuvenate a diversity of organs including the brain is a tantalizing one that should spur further research,” Tony Wyss-Coray, a professor of neurology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote in the Aug. 3 issue of the journal JAMA Neurology. In experiments, researchers connected the blood vessels of young and old mice, so that two animals shared a blood supply. They found that, following an injury, the older mice saw greater improvements in the repair of muscle and bone compared with older mice not connected to younger mice. Later experiments showed that older mice that were exposed to young blood saw an increase in the number of new brain cells in a part of the brain linked with memory. Researchers speculated that “messengers” in the blood, such as hormones and growth factors, may be responsible for some of the rejuvenating effects seen in these mouse studies. In fact, a protein called CCL11, which is more common in older mice, has been shown to impair memory and brain cell generation when it is given to younger mice. In contrast, a growth factor called GDF11 increases brain cell generation in older mice. Researchers still have a lot to learn about the effects of young blood, and it’s not clear if humans will benefit at all from the treatment.
Dr. Marc L. Gordon, chief of neurology at Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, New York, said even if factors in blood can help generate new neurons in older brains, this may not have an effect on a person’s thinking ability. There is also a concern that factors that promote cell growth and differentiation could lead to cancer in people, Gordon said, so it will be important to test the safety of the treatment……..
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