Originally published June 2 2013
'Fountain of youth' region of the brain may have been discovered by scientists
by PF Louis
(NaturalNews) Anti-aging is one of the major concerns among "baby-boomers" and others as well. This is bad news for social security and other pension plans, but it can't be helped. Everyone wants to stay young forever.
If not actually youthful, at least spared the ravages of debilitating health issues and dementia such as Alzheimer's disease, which has seen rising rates of affliction at earlier ages over the past few decades.
Most NaturalNews readers are at least aware of several lifestyle, dietary, and supplemental options to allay those concerns. But for those inclined toward using pharmaceuticals, as most baby-boomers are, there is hope for a new drug on the horizon if research concludes before too many succumb to the handicaps of old age.
The research that unfolded an interesting breakthrough
Dr. Dongsheng Cai, a molecular pharmacologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York was concerned that: "There's really not much understanding regarding the mechanism of aging."
Dr. Cai set out to determine a single unifying anatomical premise for aging issues. He and his team focused on the hypothalamus, an almond-sized organism in the center of the brain. The hypothalamus is involved with growth, reproduction, and the immune system activity.
That last activity was intriguing because a dysfunctional immune system cannot curb inflammation. And inflammation is at the root of degenerative neurological and cardiovascular issues as well as other age related debilitating situations such as rheumatoid arthritis. So that seemed a logical point to begin exploring aging factors, not just for the brain, but the whole body.
This led to isolating one of those complex esoteric biochemichal terms called nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells, simplified with the code NF-B. It's a key protein complex involved with inflammatory processes.
Interesting so far, but it had to be tested in vivo (living organism). Time to play science with mice again. They discovered that activating the NF-B pathway in the hypothalamus of mice accelerated aging, caused thinner skins, decreased muscle strength, as well as diminished learning abilities and shortened life spans.
When they blocked or inhibited the NF-B pathway, all the aging factors were ameliorated and the mice lifespans were increased 20 percent over those whose NF-B pathways were not blocked.
Consequently, a neuron-generating chemical was isolated. This chemical is, here's another multisyllabic complex term, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH). We'll stick with GnRH.
When those NF-B pathways were activated, GnRH levels decreased. Conversely, GnRH levels increased when those pathways were blocked. Injecting mice with GnRH demonstrated that using GnRH would be the most practical pharmaceutical approach to slowing the aging process. Write up the patents.
An iconoclastic aging researcher at the USC Davis School of Gerentology, Caleb "Tuck" Finch praised the study. He has always gone against the conventional theories of aging, postulating the hypothalamus's hormonal role in modulating aging for the whole body.
Finch, who wasn't involved with Dr.Cai's New York study crowed that " ... the case is now powerfully made for the role of the neuroendocrine mechanisms as modulators of aging."
What about natural anti-aging?
While they're working on a new anti-aging "miracle drug" we can religiously observe the tried and true practices of more and better sleeping, less stressing, and more moderate exercising mentally and physically.
We can exclude excessive sugar intake, especially HFCS, refined carbs, hydrogenated oils, and processed foods in general.
Increasing healthy omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10 as ubiquinol, turmeric or curcumin for reducing inflammation, and detoxing often will help us stay active and disease free as our years in the body increase.
Have you noticed that contented people leading fulfilling, purposeful lives tend to stay in good condition longer? Could be another clue.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.livescience.com
http://www.nature.com
http://www.sagecrossroads.net/node/198
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