OU scientists study brain-hormonal links

BY DAVID ZIZZO Comments 0
Published: March 5, 2009

Slowing down or even reversing the decline of the brain’s abilities is the goal. Researchers are taking various approaches in an effort to figure out how to do that.

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Some are using neuroimaging techniques, biological markers and extensive oral and written tests of changes in memory, language skills and cognitive function, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Members of the public wanting to check their own mental condition can take a "brain physical” offered by the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas at Dallas. The two-hour, $500 cognitive assessment examines abilities such as reasoning, abstract thinking, strategic learning and mental flexibility. It sets a benchmark that can be used later to assess changes in those abilities.

At the University of Oklahoma, some researchers are looking at changes in "bloodborne factors” as we age. In particular, researchers are looking at the role of growth hormones and insulin-like growth factor 1, or IGF-1, proteins that decline with age, said William Sonntag, head of aging research at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

This is not to be confused with widely marketed nutritional supplement HGH (purportedly human growth hormone) products, which are just amino acids that have "no beneficial effects,” Sonntag said. Even if it were real human growth hormone, it would have to be injected to have any effect on the brain, he said.

He said scientists conducted tests in mice, some of which show decreases in cognitive function as well as growth hormones and IGF-1 as they age. A decade ago, researchers discovered that replenishing growth hormone or IGF-1 in the aging mice brains improved cognitive function, Sonntag said.

"Since that time, we’ve been investigating specifically how these growth factors actually work in brains,” he said. The problem is that growth hormones and insulin growth factors increase the risk of cancer if taken long-term. So, researchers are trying to find out exactly what these compounds do to brains so any future treatments could be more focused.