Health · Medical Research · 2 hrs ago
A brain enzyme gene may help preserve memory with age
Some older people keep strong memory as they age, even when proteins linked to dementia build up in their brains.
The research focuses on an enzyme in the brain that breaks down fat.
A gene that makes this enzyme may help protect brain cells from aging.
The researchers are from the psychiatry department at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the United States.
Their findings suggest one possible reason why some people maintain their thinking abilities despite these protein deposits.
The gene’s activity may help keep brain cells young, but the information available does not say how this could be used in people or what happens next.
Some people retain memory and cognitive function as they age, even when proteins linked to dementia build up in their brains.
A brain enzyme that breaks down fat may help explain this preservation.
The gene that produces the enzyme may help keep brain cells young when it is strongly active.
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School are studying the subject.
- Who
- Researchers led by Amar Sahay, a professor in the psychiatry department at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
- What
- A gene that produces a brain enzyme that breaks down fat may help preserve memory with age.
- When
- The article was published on October 18, 2026. The timing of the research is not stated.
- Where
- The research is associated with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the United States.
- Why
- The gene may help keep brain cells young when it is strongly active.
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- Lead researcher
- Amar Sahay
- Institutions
- Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
- Enzyme function
- Breaks down fat in the brain
- Article publication
- October 18, 2026