Gene Activity in the Aging Brain
Transcriptome analysis reveals changes in gene activity as the brain ages.
The old brain
As time continues its relentless march, we graduate from childhood to adulthood, and eventually to old age.
During this journey, our bodies change. For the last leg of our travels, most of those changes are not ones we like to see.
Our brains do not escape age either.
With the elderly representing a growing slice of the population pie, dementia is poised to become a major health challenge for society. Dementia is an umbrella term that includes several conditions correlated with increasing age. These conditions are characterized by a progressive deterioration of cognitive capacities, such as memory and speech.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for over half of all cases. Vascular dementia is the runner-up, and Lewy body dementia(s) complete(s) the top three.
But even if we put aside neurological conditions such as dementia, our brains still change. The brain shrinks in volume, the risk for strokes increases, and the brain’s white matter has a growing tendency to develop lesions. There is also a shift in our intelligence: fluid intelligence declines while…
