2023-04-25 12:00:47
Maintaining health is important to prevent infection
Frequent illnesses such as colds can increase the risk of cognitive decline, such as brain aging and dementia. A new study shows how important preventing infection is for the elderly and those prone to dementia. This is the result of a joint study by Tulane University, West Virginia University, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The research team examined older male mice and found that moderate inflammation caused by repeated, intermittent flu or seasonal colds caused cognitive impairment and disrupted neural communication.
“We were interested in whether differences in infection experiences might partially explain the differences in dementia rates,” said lead author Elizabeth Engler-Ciurachi, a professor at Tulane University. However, when exposed to intermittent inflammation, memory decreased and neuron function deteriorated further.” The study is the first to model repeated and intermittent infections in mice and investigate the long-term consequences for brain function and health.
Humans often experience infection and inflammation at significantly higher rates than laboratory mice. Considering that in the case of rats, impairment was observed following 5 rounds of intermittent inflammation treatment, the cognitive changes in humans may be stronger.
“It’s surprising that the mice have experienced only a few intermittent disease-like inflammations and the impairments have been observed,” he said. This is why the research team thinks this result is meaningful. In humans, cognitive impairment from a similar number of inflammatory experiences may go unnoticed in everyday life, but can have a cumulative effect that negatively impacts the aging brain.
The findings might have important implications for standards of care for how infections are handled among the elderly and those at risk for dementia. In light of ongoing research on the impact of the pandemic and long-term COVID-19, this connection is even more significant.
The research team said more work is needed to understand why infections affect the brain and how to mitigate the effects. “The biggest lesson from this study is the importance of staying as healthy and free of infections as possible,” concluded Professor Engler-Ciurachi.
The study was published in the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity. The original title is ‘Intermittent systemic exposure to lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation disrupts hippocampal long-term potentiation and impairs cognition in aging male mice’.
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