Hibernation Protein May Halt Alzheimer's

BarbaraHudson writes The BBC is reporting that tests show a protein called RBM3, involved in hibernation, may hold the key to regenerating synapses. In the early stages of Alzheimer's, and other neurodegenerative disorders, synapses are lost. This inevitably progresses to whole brain cells dying. But during hibernation, 20-30% of the connections in the brain — synapses — are culled as the body preserves resources over winter, and are reformed in the spring, with no loss of memory. Memories can be restored after hibernation as only the receiving end of the synapse shuts down. In a further set of tests, the team showed the brain cell deaths from prion disease and Alzheimer's could be prevented by artificially boosting RBM3 levels. Prof Mallucci was asked if memories could be restored in people if their synapses could be restored: "Absolutely, because a lot of memory decline is correlated with synapse loss, which is the early stage of dementia, so you might get back some of the synapse you've lost."

Further reading: here, here, and here"

Comments

Re:baseless speculation and hype

[BarbaraHudson]

Because Alzheimer's doesn't cause "retardation".

Obviously I couldn't put everything in the summary (I provided 4 links) A few points: First, the same protection was observed with higher levels or RBM3 in mice that didn't undergo induced hibernation as with those who underwent induced hibernation:

In the grand finale set of experiments, the researchers bypassed cooling and injected lentiviruses expressing RBM3 directly into the hippocampi of mice early in prion disease. They achieved a threefold overexpression of RBM3 that afforded the mice the same synaptic, behavioral, and survival benefits that early cooling had, and rescued flagging protein synthesis observed in neurons nine weeks post-infection. Boosting RBM3 expression also allowed synapses in both neurodegenerative disease models to recover completely after cooling. Conversely, knocking down expression of RBM3 accelerated disease progression in the prion model, and hastened synapse loss in both models. Synapses and memory even took a hit in normal mice deprived of RBM3 expression, as they lost synapses and did not recognize novel objects as well as control mice. This suggested that the cold-shock protein may play an important physiological role in normal synapse upkeep.

Mallucci hypothesized that RBM3 promotes synaptic plasticity and staves off neurodegeneration by raising levels of protein synthesis in dendrites. “Synapses are so dependent on their key synaptic proteins for assembly and function,” said Mallucci. Because synapses often reside distant from the cell body, local translation at the dendrite is important to ensure a ready supply of such proteins and thus facilitate synaptic recovery, she added.

So we know that RBM3 protects regardless of whether it was produced by hibernation or artificial elevation of just the protein RBM3.

Second we already know cooling of the brain in humans is also protective:

A state of hypothermia is known to protect the brain. People have been survived for hours after a cardiac arrest without brain damage after falling into icy water. Similiarly, cooling the brains of babies that have suffered a loss of oxygen at birth is also used to protect against brain damage.

"We’ve known for some time that cooling can slow down or even prevent damage to brain cells, but reducing body temperature is rarely feasible in practice: it’s unpleasant and involves risks such as pneumonia and blood clots," said Professor Giovanna Mallucci, who led the research team, at the Medical Research Councils Toxicology Unit at the University of Leicester. "But, by identifying how cooling activates a process that prevents the loss of brain cells, we can now work towards finding a means to develop drugs that might mimic the protective effects of cold on the brain."

So there is reason to think that the same mechanism might work in other mammals, and not just those who hibernate. We'll only know when human trials commence, but considering what's at stake, there will be literally millions volunteering to be test subjects.

Re:Memory

[germansausage]

Very emotional post. Sorry to bring logic into it. Care homes cost a lot of money. $3 - 5 k a month isn't unusual for basic nursing care. If I wanted my relatives money, the very last thing I would do is put them in a home, where they might live another 5 years and burn through every dime they have.