Reversing Brain Aging? Scientist May Have Found A Way - Exploring FTL1

As we age, many of us experience declines in learning and memory, but recent groundbreaking research from UC San Francisco points to a key protein responsible for this cognitive decline—FTL1. This iron-associated protein accumulates in the brain's hippocampus, the region crucial for forming new memories, and disrupts the connections between brain cells, leading to impaired cognition.

In experiments with mice, researchers found that artificially increasing FTL1 levels in young mice caused their brains and behaviors to resemble those of older mice, with diminished memory and fewer synaptic connections. Conversely, reducing FTL1 in older mice revitalized their brain activity, boosting connections between neurons and improving memory performance, effectively making their brains behave more youthfully.

FTL1 regulates iron storage and metabolism in the brain, and its levels naturally increase as we age due to changes in brain iron metabolism. Understanding FTL1's role opens the door to developing therapies that could block its negative effects and potentially restore cognitive function in older adults.

“It is truly a reversal of impairments,” said Saul Villeda, PhD, associate director of the UCSF Bakar Aging Research Institute and senior author of the paper, published in Nature Aging. “It’s much more than merely delaying or preventing symptoms.”

This discovery offers exciting hope for combating age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Although the findings are based on mouse models, the research team and experts stress the importance of further studies to confirm these effects in humans.

For anyone interested in the biology of ageing and brain health, this protein marks an important milestone in the quest to keep our brains youthful and cognitively sharp as we grow older.

Source: Science Focus, "Scientists may have found how to stop brain ageing," August 29, 2025​ https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/brain-ageing-protein-cause 

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