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Scientists say a hormone associated with longevity also makes people smarter. It helps people live longer. It fights atherosclerosis, and naturally lowers high blood pressure. This hormone you probably have never hear of is klotho, the brain hormone
Klotho is available as a recombinant drug created by genetic engineering. Right now, the use of klotho is still experimental. The FDA in the US and the drug regulatory agencies of other countries do not approve klotho use by doctors. However, there is a compelling reason that klotho may be available at your pharmacy soon. That's because it seems to have the potential to exert a dramatic effect on both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Here's what scientists know about klotho and the brain:
- At any given age, people with higher levels of klotho score higher on tests in intellectual ability and eye-hand coordination. Klotho seems to strengthen the connections between brain cells.
- Simply eating less increases klotho levels. The older you get, the greater and more predictable the beneficial effect of calorie restriction on your brain health.
- Higher klotho levels are associated with more gray matter in the brain. Specifically, higher levels of this hormone are associated with a greater volume of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This is the region of the brain associated with executive function, or decision making. The more klotho circulates in your brain, the more likely you are not to suffer dementia.
- People who have Alzheimer's disease still make such klotho, but only about 80 percent as much as people of the same age who do not have Alzheimer's disease. Scientists don't expect that klotho will completely stop Alzheimer's disease, which is usually associated with formation of amyloid protein plaques that damage neurons, but it may compensate for some of the damage done by Alzheimer's. It is more likely to be a treatment than a cure.
- In tests with laboratory animals, higher levels of klotho were associated with higher intelligence at all ages, not just in older laboratory animals.
- The klotho gene can be activated by exercise. Getting regular exercise, even if it is just walking, keeps the brain more "plastic," more able to adapt to changes caused by poor circulation or medication side effects. Exercise is associated with better verbal fluency and short-term memory.
- The effects of the klotho gene seem to spread from the front of the brain to the back. The front of the brain is the region in which reasoning takes place. The back of the brain, specifically the hippocampus, is the region in which memories are formed. When klotho has acted in these areas, it then stimulates the production of new neurons as needed from stem cells in the brain.
- The brain-protective effects of klotho involve the protection of the brain from the effects of glutamate, a potent generator of free radicals.
All of this is interesting, but until such time as our doctors can give us a shot of klotho, what can we do to activate this brain protective-hormone and stave off the brain diseases of old age?
Here are some suggestions.
- There is a considerable body of evidence that suggests that Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease may respond favorably to occasional (twice a week) periods of calorie reduction. Simply eating very light dinner or a very light breakfast two days a week gives the brain a chance to rebuild damaged proteins and to repair DNA. This keeps cells from aging so that the immune system has to remove them, and healthy cells around them.
- Exercise helps keep your brain younger. Even walking can help, although more complex activities (playing a musical instrument, playing a sport, doing physical labor that requires learned skills) are even better. People over the age of 60 who do not get any exercise at all are more likely to have problems with verbal fluency and with memory.
- Antioxidants are useful in brain health. You don't have to take a shelf full of nutritional supplements. Your best source of antioxidants for brain health is fresh fruits and vegetables, tea, and coffee. You can extend the benefits of antioxidants in food and antioxidants in supplements by avoiding sugar.
- Prather AA, Epel ES, Arenander J, Broestl L, Garay BI, Wang D, Dubal DB. Longevity factor klotho and chronic psychological stress. Transl Psychiatry. 2015 Jun 16. 5:e585. doi: 10.1038/tp.2015.81. PMID: 26080320.
- Schafer MJ, Dolgalev I, Alldred MJ, Heguy A, Ginsberg SD. Calorie Restriction Suppresses Age-Dependent Hippocampal Transcriptional Signatures. PLoS One. 2015 Jul 29.10(7):e0133923. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0133923. eCollection 2015. PMID: 26221964.
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- Photo courtesy of Andrew mason: www.flickr.com/photos/a_mason/19191446/
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