Scottish researchers identify promising drug candidate to reverse age-related memory loss in mice

Supported by funding from the Wellcome Trust, researchers at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, have identified a new experimental compound that can improve memory and cognitive function in aging mice. The compound is being investigated with a view to developing a drug that could slow the natural decline in memory associated with aging, and the scientists hope to take into human trials within a year.

Many people find they become more forgetful as they get older and generally accept it as a natural part of the aging process. Absent mindedness and a difficulty to concentrate are not uncommon; it takes longer to recall a person's name, and people cannot remember where they left the car keys. These can all be early signs of the onset of dementia, but for most it is just part of getting old.

Such memory loss has been linked with high levels of “stress” steroid hormones known as glucocorticoids which have a deleterious effect on the part of the brain that helps people to remember. An enzyme called 11beta-HSD1 is involved in making these hormones and has been shown to be more active in the brain during aging.