Scientists have linked immature brain cells with impaired thinking in epilepsy
Scientists from the University of Southern California have found a link between the number of abnormal immature brain cells and a decrease in the ability to solve new tasks in people with epilepsy. The older participants had more of these cells, and their increased number was accompanied by worse results in tests of mobile intelligence. What the experts have discovered and what opportunities it opens up for studying brain aging is in the Izvestia article.
Which cells have been linked to a decline in thinking?
The researchers were interested in astroglia, cells that help neurons interact and maintain a favorable environment in the nervous tissue. Many of them have a characteristic star shape. In the new work, the experts studied abnormal astroglial cells with signs of immaturity.
The authors paid special attention to mobile intelligence, the ability to solve unfamiliar tasks. It helps a person to reason and find patterns in new information. It is this ability that can decrease with age.
How scientists studied the brains of patients
It is usually difficult to compare the composition of brain tissue with a person's intellectual abilities. Magnetic resonance imaging and electroencephalography do not allow us to study individual cells in sufficient detail, and tissue samples from living patients are rarely available for research.
In this case, the material was obtained during operations for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. The patients had their hippocampal tissue removed, an area of the brain involved in learning and memory. Surgical intervention was performed to treat severe seizures that could not be controlled with medications.
Before the operation, the patients underwent an examination that included tasks on thinking, memory, attention, speech, and fine motor skills. After the intervention, the scientists examined the removed tissue under a microscope.
The scientific article clarifies that the analysis of cognitive indicators covered 40 people, the tissue study — 29. The number of cells was compared with the test results in 19 patients for whom both sets of data were available. Mobile intelligence was assessed using the Raven test.
What the study showed
In older patients, more immature astroglial cells were found in one of the studied areas of the hippocampus. The increased number of such cells was also accompanied by lower mobile intelligence test results.
"A higher number of these cells was also associated with poorer mobile intelligence test scores," said Aswati Ammotumkandi, first author of the study and researcher at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.
At the same time, the relationship turned out to be preliminary: it did not retain statistical significance after adjusting for multiple comparisons. When age was taken into account at the same time, the independent contribution of the number of cells was also not statistically confirmed. Therefore, it is not yet possible to confidently separate the alleged role of astroglia from age-related changes.
The study also revealed differences between cognitive functions. Although visual-spatial abilities and memory also deteriorated with age, there was no statistically significant relationship between these indicators and the number of immature cells.
The authors emphasize that observation does not establish the cause of the deterioration of thinking. It is also unknown whether similar changes occur during normal aging in people without epilepsy. The results will have to be checked on larger samples.
How discovery can help in finding a cure
According to co-author Michael Bonaguidi, a researcher at the University of Southern California, astroglia may become a new target for methods of preserving cognitive functions. However, it is first necessary to find out whether immature cells directly contribute to the deterioration of thinking and whether their condition can be changed.
Ammotumkandi is already studying the molecular features of such cells. By comparing samples of patients with epilepsy with controls, she expects to find differences that will help identify potential drug targets.
Neuromodulation, the effect of electrical or magnetic impulses on the nervous system, may be another area of future research. Scientists admit that this approach will help maintain the normal operation of the astroglia. The possibility of improving cognitive functions precisely by influencing these cells has yet to be tested.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
