How metabolic communications work
Astrocytes, not neurons, are the first to signal brain aging. Scientists from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences came to this conclusion.
Experts have noticed that the processes of neurodegeneration in developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease almost until the last have no effect on functioning neurons. As a rule, disturbances in their work are detected already in the later stages of the disease, when the changes are irreversible and lead to a sharp decline in cognitive functions.
A group of scientists from the Institute of Biochemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University. Lomonosova found an early marker of brain aging. They turned out to be astrocytes — brain cells that provide neurons with nutrients and remove unnecessary ones.
By studying the astrocytes of deceased people aged 22 to 72 years, scientists showed that in people of the older age group these cells have shorter and thick branches with fewer terminal processes. The composition of the structural proteins of “metabolic” cells also changed with age, which can usually lead to a deterioration in their functions even against the background of well-functioning neurons. Researchers noticed that the state of astrocytes changed in people after 50 years.
According to scientists, astrocytes, as well as other components of the intercellular environment of the brain, which can also change with age, should become the object of further active research. They will be needed to develop therapeutic measures, as well as methods for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.
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