June 05, 2025
Researchers publishing in Aging Cell have used single-cell transcriptomics to discover new insights into how neural stem cells (NSCs) change with aging. Adults do generate neurons The adult brain does generate new neurons [1], particularly in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory formation [2]. Neurogenesis is limited to very specific niches,...
October 01, 2024
With Alzheimer’s disease, most of the focus has been on neurons. A new study's researchers suggest boosting the process of cellular junk removal in astrocytes, brain cells that perform maintenance tasks, as a new pathway [1]. Looking at a different cell type Accumulation of amyloid beta, a misfolded protein, is undoubtedly one of the hallmarks...
March 21, 2024
In an in-depth paper in Nature, researchers have explained how astrocytes, helper cells that provide crucial brain functions, epigenetically remember things in a way that encourages inflammation. Traumatized cells Long-lived immune cells, including T cells and B cells, can remember foreign pathogens [1]. This is why people can become immune to diseases after catching them...
May 17, 2023
Publishing in Aging, a team of Chilean researchers has described a relationship between gene shifts in the brain and neurons not getting the energy they need. Greedy glia To perform various maintenance and protective tasks, the brain contains a large population of microglia alongside its neurons. These glia include astrocytes, which, among their many other...
July 06, 2022
A new study published in Stem Cell Research and Therapy has shown that rejuvenating the astrocyte niche in the aged brains of mice leads to improved nervous system function at both the cellular and organismal levels [1]. A glia-centric approach In brain aging, neurons are quite literally only half of the story; the other half...
October 22, 2021
Researchers have identified an important mechanism of neurodegeneration that may be useful in treating age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia [1]. These neurons must die Age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, have become more prevalent mostly because of the successes of modern medicine. Today, more people become old enough to fall prey to...