The region of the brain that controls aging throughout the body has been found.
A new study reports that the signaling pathway in the brain region known as the hypothalamus could control aging in mice. If this holds true for humans as well, the discovery could open up possibilities for slowing the aging process and lengthening life span.
Connecting the dots
“There’s really not much understanding regarding the mechanism of aging,” explained senior author Dr. Dongsheng Cai, molecular pharmacologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
The hypothalamus is a small, almond-size structure deep inside the brain which is known to control important functions of growth, development, reproduction and metabolism. The research team has found that an immune system pathway in the hypothalamus also has a role in controlling aging.
Studies have linked inflammatory changes with age-related conditions, including cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease. But only now has the connection been made between the aging process and the hypothalamus.
Using mice to check results
Cai and his team studied a protein complex in mice brains which plays a central role in inflammatory processes. The researchers found that if you activated a specific pathway in the mice’s hypothalamus, aging was accelerated and lifespan was decreased. By contrast, when the pathway was blocked, aging slowed and the mice lived 20 percent longer.
Researchers also found that when the pathway was activated, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) dropped and development of new neurons was decreased. When GnRH was injected into the hypothalamus, it promoted neuron generation and decelerated aging.
Treatment for age-related disease
The GnRH treatment could represent a potential means of slowing the progress of age-related illnesses and neurodegeneration.
Caleb Finch of the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology called the research a “brilliant study.” He added, “The case is now powerfully made for the role of the neuroendocrine mechanisms as modulators of aging.”
Source: LifeScience
