Drug Reverses Age-Related Mental Decline Within Days, Suggesting Lost Cognitive Ability is Not Perma

[libertybele]

Drug Reverses Age-Related Mental Decline Within Days, Suggesting Lost Cognitive Ability is Not Permanent


Just a few doses of an experimental drug that reboots protein production in cells can reverse age-related declines in memory and mental flexibility in mice, according to a new study by UC San Francisco scientists.

The drug, called ISRIB, has already been shown in laboratory studies to restore memory function months after traumatic brain injury (TBI), reverse cognitive impairments in Down Syndrome, prevent noise-related hearing loss, fight certain types of prostate cancer, and even enhance cognition in healthy animals.

In the new study, published Dec. 1 in the open-access journal eLife, researchers showed rapid restoration of youthful cognitive abilities in aged mice, accompanied by a rejuvenation of brain and immune cells that could help explain improvements in brain function—and with no side effects observed.

“ISRIB’s extremely rapid effects show for the first time that a significant component of age-related cognitive losses may be caused by a kind of reversible physiological “blockage” rather than more permanent degradation,” said Susanna Rosi, PhD, Lewis and Ruth Cozen Chair II and professor in the departments of Neurological Surgery and of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science.

“The data suggest that the aged brain has not permanently lost essential cognitive capacities, as was commonly assumed, but rather that these cognitive resources are still there but have been somehow blocked, trapped by a vicious cycle of cellular stress,” added Peter Walter, PhD, a professor in the UCSF Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. “Our work with ISRIB demonstrates a way to break that cycle and restore cognitive abilities that had become walled off over time.”...................

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/isrib-drug-reverses-age-related-mental-decline-within-days-in-mice/

[dfwgator]

So you’re saying there’s hope for Biden after all?

[thackney]

For details

Small molecule cognitive enhancer reverses age-related memory decline in mice
https://elifesciences.org/articles/62048

Abstract
With increased life expectancy, age-associated cognitive decline becomes a growing concern, even in the absence of recognizable neurodegenerative disease. The integrated stress response (ISR) is activated during aging and contributes to age-related brain phenotypes. We demonstrate that treatment with the drug-like small-molecule ISR inhibitor ISRIB reverses ISR activation in the brain, as indicated by decreased levels of activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) and phosphorylated eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF2. Furthermore, ISRIB treatment reverses spatial memory deficits and ameliorates working memory in old mice. At the cellular level in the hippocampus, ISR inhibition (i) rescues intrinsic neuronal electrophysiological properties, (ii) restores spine density and (iii) reduces immune profiles, specifically interferon and T cell-mediated responses. Thus, pharmacological interference with the ISR emerges as a promising intervention strategy for combating age-related cognitive decline in otherwise healthy individuals....

...We recently showed ISRIB administration reversed mild head trauma-induced elevation in ATF4 protein (Krukowski et al., 2020). Using the same ISRIB treatment paradigm of daily injections on 3 consecutive days (Chou et al., 2017; Krukowski et al., 2020), we found decreased age-associated ATF4 protein levels in mouse brain lysates when compared to vehicle-treated controls during ISRIB administration (Figure 1—figure supplement 1). ATF4 levels 18 days after cessation of ISRIB treatment showed persistent reduction in age-induced ATF4 protein levels that were indistinguishable from young mice (Figure 1A,B, Figure 1—figure supplement 2A).....

...If these findings in mice translate into human physiology, they offer hope and a tangible strategy to sustain cognitive ability as we age....

[Victoria33]

 

[Texas Yellow Rose]

For details

Small molecule cognitive enhancer reverses age-related memory decline in mice
https://elifesciences.org/articles/62048

The link has exceptional information.  Thanks!

[GtHawk]

So you’re saying there’s hope for Biden after all?

Hang on, let me get a second opinion