Why Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are more common with age
Technology
A study published in Nature suggests our brains get less efficient at cleaning up proteins as we age.
When neurons slow down recycling these proteins, the leftovers pile up and are handed off to microglia—the brain's cleanup crew.
Findings could point to new ways of tracking or treating
This protein buildup can mess with how brain cells talk to each other, which might help explain why diseases like Alzheimer's become more common with age.
In mouse experiments, older brains recycled proteins much slower than younger ones, causing proteins to accumulate and clog synapses, and some of those proteins have previously been implicated in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
The researchers say these findings could point to new ways of tracking or even treating brain health as we get older.