“Aging Brain Retains a Remarkable Capacity for Resiliency”
Normal aging is characterized by deficits in the cognitive domains of learning, memory and executive function. Specifically, there are age-related changes in recall of information, speed of processing, visuospatial skills and cognitive flexibility. While these age-related changes in cognition, referred to as “normal cognitive aging,” are well-established, the underlying drivers of these changes are not fully understood.
A new study by researchers at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine has found that a treatment made up of natural particles called extracellular vesicles (EVs), released by stem cells in bone marrow, can slow and even reverse certain aspects of normal age-related memory decline. They showed that tiny vesicles helped maintain memory skills and improved communication between brain areas over a period of two years in an experimental model. According to the researchers, the vesicles contain molecules like proteins, lipids, and RNAs that help to reduce inflammation and support multiple types of brain cells in responding to age-related stress.
This is the first study of its kind to show that this treatment can protect the brain’s structure and function during normal aging in a model closely related to humans.
Evan Mackie, PhD student“By applying secreted stem cells, specifically EVs, we found that the aging brain retains a remarkable capacity for resilience. Our findings suggest that aging is not set in stone; that brain health can be supported and maintained even in older age,” explains corresponding author Evan Mackie, a PhD student in the school’s department of anatomy & neurobiology.
The researchers worked with middle-aged subjects, an age range when age-related cognitive decline is beginning. Half of the subjects received regular infusions of extracellular vesicles from young, healthy donor cells every two weeks for a year and a half, while the other half received a control treatment without vesicles. The subjects completed memory and learning tests before and after treatment, and MRI scans were performed to look at how efficiently different brain regions were connected and the health of these connections with and without treatment. At the end of the study, the subjects that received the EVs showed better working memory and signs of healthier brain connections supporting efficient communication between different regions.
Tara L. Moore, PhD“Because similar vulnerabilities in brain structure and function also occur in conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke and brain injury, this approach may one day help protect the brain in both healthy aging and disease,” adds senior author Tara L. Moore, PhD, professor of anatomy and neurobiology.
These findings appear online in the journal Geroscience.
This study was funded by: NIH/NIA R01 AG068168, NIH/NIA R01 AG078460, NIH/NIA RF1 AG043640 and NIH/NIA RF1 AG062831.