Scientists who have been trying for years to find a solution to the problem of the aging brain and the gradual loss of memory, may have discovered a possible cure. Experiments on rodents showed that the administration of cerebrospinal fluid from younger animals significantly improved memory in aged mice. The improvement is mainly due to a protein (FGF17) contained in the “youthful” fluid.
The American researchers of Stanford University in California, led by neuroscientists Tal Ilam and Tony Whiskey-Corey, who published the paper in Nature, according to the New York Times, applications in humans (eg with dementia or Alzheimer’s), although research is still in its infancy.
Dr. Tony Weiss-Corey in an earlier study had shown that Blood donation from younger animals to older ones partially reverses aging. Now the focus is on cerebrospinal fluid. Doctors have long used cerebrospinal fluid as an indicator of brain health and the occurrence of neurological diseases.
New research utilizes this fluid from organisms at a young age to rejuvenate the memory of aging organisms. The researchers hope that this fluid, and in particular the FGF17 protein – which could be administered on its own – will eventually be a kind of elixir for brain and memory health.
One of the practical difficulties is that it is difficult to collect cerebrospinal fluid. In addition, the question of bioethics arises as to whether it is right to take such fluid from a young person to be transferred to an elderly person. Administering only the FGF17 protein and not all of the fluid is probably a more practical solution.
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