Picture from cited article below: Image of neural stem cells and newborn neurons (green) artificially generated in the hippocampus and contacting mature cells (red) of the mouse brain. ©CRTD
Stem cells are constantly re-juvenating our body including the brain, but as we age, our pool of stem cells declines, leading to poor mental and physical performance. A new study demonstrates the positive effect of increasing the number of stem cells in the brain.
We already know that a healthy lifestyle reduces inflammation and improves circulation and leads to better brain and body performance. What is new is that this study (full article here) demonstrates that increasing the number of stem cells leads to better mental performance – thus pointing to a future treatment for e.g. dementia.
“Our study demonstrates that critical aspects of hippocampal function can be reversed in old age, or compensated throughout life, by exploiting the brain’s endogenous reserve of neural stem cells.”
