Having a senior moment?

Well, if you are someone who is into the second half of your life, chances are you have noticed the occasional memory lapse. Simple things like phone numbers or the location of your keys slip your mind a little more often than they once did. 

These ‘senior moments’, as they are somewhat endearingly called, are typically just an annoyance. They do not seriously affect a person’s ability to function on a daily basis, but they can sometimes cause anxiety. Often, people have an unsettling feeling that minor memory slip-ups could be the beginnings of something more serious. 

One study shed some interesting light on the subject of age-related memory loss, and may lead to the possibility of reversing it. 

Columbia University researchers examined the effects of a particular protein in the brains of humans and mice. They found that a deficiency in this protein in the hippocampus area was associated with age-related memory loss. 

Their research showed that this forgetfulness is distinct from the more serious memory loss associated with dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, and that the one is not a precursor to the other. 

We have known for some time that Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by plaques within the brain, and these are not present in people with the more minor age-related memory loss. This study pinpointed what is happening when we experience those pesky senior moments.

It turns out levels of a particular protein (RbAp48) decline steadily in people as they age. This was found across the board in human subjects. A similar decrease was noted in the brains of mice – the older the mice, the less of this protein they had in their brains. 

Further, when scientists reduced the amount of the protein in the brains of young mice, the mice experienced the same memory loss that occurs naturally in aging mice. When the protein levels were returned to normal, the memory did as well. 

Perhaps most interestingly, when this protein was increased in the brains of aging mice, their memory improved dramatically. 

This finding inspires hope that we could eventually use this information to come up with ways to reverse memory loss associated with aging. Whether the solution comes in the form of a pharmaceutical treatment or natural methods to increase production of this protein within the hippocampus, it will be profoundly helpful to understand the mechanism involved in this condition. 

Research into this is ongoing, and more data will be necessary before any kind of treatment can be realized, but it certainly is promising to work with something concrete. 

In the meantime, it is helpful just to know that normal age-related memory loss is physiologically different from dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. At the very least, it can be a comfort to many older people who experience occasional ‘senior moments’. Although it is irritating to misplace your wallet or forget a postal code you’ve been using for years, it is not necessarily a harbinger of more upsetting symptoms coming your way.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.