Scientists at UCSF scanned every protein and gene that changes in the aging brain and found one that stood out above everything else as consistently different between young and old animals. When they artificially increased this protein in young mice, the animals developed the memory deficits and weakened synaptic connections of old age within weeks. When they reduced it in mice that were already old and already cognitively impaired, the synapses regrew and memory performance recovered. The protein accumulates in the hippocampus as iron metabolism breaks down in aging neurons, and elevated levels of the same protein have been found in the post-mortem brains of Alzheimer's patients. The researchers described what happened when they removed it as a true reversal of impairments, not a slowing of decline, an actual reversal, and it is the first time that phrase has been used with this level of experimental support in the context of memory loss. submitted by /u/soulpost [link] [comments]