Scientists said they had found a brain region that controls
physical ageing, opening the possibility of one day being able to manipulate it
to effect how people grow old.
The research, published in the journal Nature, implicates the hypothalamus --
a brain region that regulates growth, reproduction and metabolism, in the
gradual and coordinated bodily deterioration we call ageing.
Though the brain has long been suspected of orchestrating the process, this
is the first evidence to that effect.
The team said they could speed up or slow down ageing in mice by activating
or inhibiting the brain signalling molecule NF-kB in the hypothalamus, which in
turn affects levels of a hormone called GnRH that plays a role in the generation
of neurons -- the data processing cells of the brain.
By stimulating NF-kB, they caused a decline in GnRH which led to impaired
neurogenesis and ageing symptoms like muscle weakening, skin atrophy, bone loss
and memory impairment.
NF-kB is generally responsible for regulating the body's response to
inflammation, the New York-based team wrote.
The researchers could also slow ageing in mice by giving them the GnRH
hormone.More Here
News Credit: yahoo news
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