Brain ageing is a complicated process, unlikely to have a single cause. But scientists think they may have found a key piece in the puzzle: protein FTL1.
A study published in Nature Ageing looked at how the brains of mice changed as they aged. They wanted to see what might drive the processes that can slow down our mental activity and impair our memory over the years.
They found that the protein seemed to be the only consistent difference between younger and older mice minds – and they think they know how to counter it.
What does FLT1 do?
In older mice, FLT1 levels were higher. They had fewer connections in a part of the brain called the hippocampus (which is responsible for learning and memory), and their cognitive abilities weren’t as high as those of the younger mice.
To investigate whether the protein itself was causing that change, the scientists gave younger mice more of the p...
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