UCSF researcher Dena Dubal’s new work in Cell Reports.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: University of California San Francisco (UCSF) professor and researcher Dr. Dena Dubal is at the helm of a study that has found that the gene typically associated with living longer may also be instrumental in preventing cognitive degeneration.
In other words, the gene that makes people smarter also helps them live longer, says the study published in Cell Reports. According to Dubal, an assistant professor in UCSF’s Department of Neurology, a gene known as the “klotho gene,” which secretes certain hormones that have been known to interfere with the process of aging, may also help to boost brain functionality in older age, helping people live longer.
In fact, this deficiency was proven to not just deter degeneration, but actively boost brain function, increasing a person’s IQ by as much as six points. This means that Dubal and her team could have found a way to treat everything from simple forgetfulness, to mild forms of dementia, to potentially even bigger cognitive ailments.
Approximately 20% of people, or one out of every five, has this klotho gene variation, which is created by a version of the KL protein known as KL-VS. But Dubal says that the most exciting part of this discovery is by having isolated the gene associated with improving brain function in seniors, there may potentially be a way to treat degenerative brain disorders, most notably Alzheimer’s Disease.
“Whether anti-aging factors such as klotho can counteract cognitive decline is unknown,” says the report, entitled “Life Extension Factor Klotho Enhances Cognition.” “Augmenting klotho or its effects may enhance cognition and counteract cognitive deficits at different life stages.”
Dubal earned her MD and Ph.D. degreed from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, and specialized in neurodegeneration. She has done extensive research on Alzheimer’s, and the various effects of strokes on the human body. Her work has garnered her praise from all corners of the US, and she has even won the prestigious Paul Beeson Career Development Award from the National Institute on Aging (part of the NIH) and American Federation for Aging Research.
“Aging is the principle risk factor for many neurodegenerative conditions,” Dubal says on her UCSF staff page. “The goal of our research is to investigate mechanisms of longevity and determine whether “anti-aging” strategies can prevent or block the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.”
So far, Dubal and her team were only able to perform this experiment on mice. But they believe that the same principals can be applied to human, essentially jump-starting the human brain when it begins to age, allowing humans to live longer, healthier, and happier.