New drug may help rescue the aging brain

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Age on the brain. An experimental drug S18986 seems to counteract numerous symptoms of aging in rats. Animals given the drug daily for four months were active with better memories and less inflammation in their brains. Dopamine-producing neurons in t ...
Age on the brain. An experimental drug, S18986, seems to counteract numerous symptoms of aging in rats. Animals given the drug daily for four months were active, with better memories and less inflammation in their brains. Dopamine-producing neurons in the forebrain of an 18-month-old drugged rat (top) are far more active than those in a normal rat of the same age.

As people age, their brains pay the price — inflammation goes up, levels of certain neurotransmitters go down, and the result is a plethora of ailments ranging from memory impairment and depression to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. But in a long-term study with implications to treat these and other conditions, researchers have found that an experimental drug, taken chronically, has the ability to stem the effects of aging in the rat brain.


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