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Researchers have identified a natural bone hormone that can potentially reverse memory loss in the aging brain through exercise.
The study on osteocalcin, a hormone, provides a new insight into how lifestyle changes that affect the body, such as exercise, could positively affect the brain.
"Almost everyone will experience age-related memory loss during their lifetime, so it's extremely important to understand their causes and identify ways to mitigate it," he said. Eric R. Kandel, professor at Columbia University.
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"With today 's study, we are building a detailed understanding of the origin of aging – related memory loss in the brain, we are also showing how osteocalcin interacts with key proteins in the brain to stimulate memory. "
For many years, memory loss has been treated as a singular disorder. But scientists have now begun to realize that Alzheimer's disease begins in a part of the brain called the entorhinal cortex, located at the foot of the hippocampus.
On the other hand, age-related memory loss starts inside the hippocampus, in an area called the dentate gyrus, said Kandel.
The Kandel team has identified a deficiency in a protein called RbAp48 protein, a major contributor to memory loss related to age but not to Alzheimer's disease. Protein levels decrease with age in both mice and humans.
In a series of experiments reported in the journal Cell Reports, the team discovered that RbAp48 was controlling the expression levels of two other osteocalcin-regulated proteins.
If the function of RbAp48 is inhibited, osteocalcin infusions have no effect on the animal's memory. Osteocalcin needs RbAp48 to start the process.
These results also provide further evidence that exercise can be the best way to avoid or even treat age-related memory loss in humans.
Studies in mice have shown that moderate exercise, such as walking, triggers the release of osteocalcin in the body.
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