Silicon Valley startups claiming that injections of young people’s blood could have health benefits for the elderly or sick have risen and fallen, without much in the way of actual science backing their claims. The idea gets a revamp in mouse research published today (May 11) in Nature, which suggests that injecting cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from younger into older mice can rejuvenate the memory of the recipients under specific conditions.
Cerebrospinal fluid has an important dual role: it cushions the brain and provides nutrients as it flows in and around the brain’s cavities and folds. In the study, 18-to-25-month-old mice that had the CSF of 2-to-3-month-old mice injected directly into their brains outperformed controls on a fear conditioning memory task. The study authors say that’s thanks to the growth of new oligodendrocytes, which support other brain cells by producing myelin, the insulation that shields neurons’ axons.
“Oligodendrocytes are unique because ...
