Researchers Discover Blood Molecules’ Ability to Imitate Exercise Benefits in the Brain
In a recent development, scientists have uncovered that the administration of specific blood molecules through an injection can replicate the positive outcomes of exercise within the brain. This breakthrough has the potential to pave the path for novel treatments targeting age-related cognitive decline, particularly in individuals affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
Published recently in the journal Nature Communications, the study highlights how platelets, minute blood cells crucial for blood clotting, release a protein that revitalizes neurons in older mice, akin to the effects of physical activity.
Odette Leiter, affiliated with the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia, stated, “Although it’s well-established that exercise enhances the generation of new neurons in the hippocampus—a brain region linked to learning and memory—the precise mechanism behind this phenomenon has remained elusive.”