The pool of new brain cells remains intact in aging brains — but reduced blood flow to the area makes the cells less active, a new study has found.
The research suggests it might be possible to combat some age-related cognitive decline by improving blood flow to the brain, and making sure tiny capillaries that feed brain nerve cells are not compromised, Time reported.
"Exercise could be one thing to maintain the vasculature and being intellectually engaged also helps," lead researcher Maura Boldrini at the department of psychiatry at Columbia University told Time.
In a study published in Cell Stem Cell, Boldrini and her research team studied the brains of 28 healthy people — from 14 to 79 — who had died suddenly of accidents.
The researchers wanted to look at the number of brain cells in different parts of the brain as well as the population of stem cells, which give rise to the brain nerve cells, Time noted.
What they found was older people made as many new neurons in parts of the brain responsible for memory as younger people do — but had reduced blood flow to nourish these cells, meaning the cells in older brains were dividing less and generating fewer new neurons than younger brains.
Boldrini hopes to compare her results to those of people with degenerative brain conditions like Alzheimer's to see if the growth of new nerves is affected by those diseases, Time reported.
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