Researchers discover aging hotspot in the brain and it could have big implications for patients

The brain plays a big part in the aging process, and scientists think they’ve pinpointed the specific cells that control it.In a study of mice, researchers at the Allen Institute identified certain cells that showed “major changes” with age, particularly in one specific “hotspot,” according to a press release.Mice were chosen because their brains share “many similarities” to human brains.“Our brain consists of thousands of types of cells, which carry out different functions,” Hongkui Zeng, study co-author and director of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, told Fox News Digital.“Our study shows that different cell types are differentially susceptible to the aging process.”The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was published in the journal Nature.The researchers used RNA sequencing and brain-mapping tools to analyze more than 1.2 million brain cells from young mice (2 months old) and older mice (18 months old). The 18-month-old mice are roughly equivalent to a “late middle-aged human,” the researchers indicated.The researchers grouped the cells into 847 different types and also identified nearly 2,500 genes that changed with aging, according to Zeng.The cells that were linked to aging showed an increase in inflammation and a decrease in “neuronal function.”“Changes in these genes point to deteriorated neuronal structure and function in many neuronal and glial cell types, as well as increased immune response and inflammation in the brain’s immune and vascular (blood vessel) cell types,” Zeng detailed.The cells that experienced the biggest changes were the ones in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that is linked to food intake, energy balance, and metabolism, the researchers noted.This suggests that this area is a “hotspot for aging,” Zeng noted, and that there could be a connection between diet, lifestyle factors, brain aging, and risk of age-related cognitive disorders.“The findi...