Immature brain support cells may be linked to human age-related cognitive decline

A new USC-led study links abnormal immature astroglia, star-shaped cells that support brain function, to lower fluid intelligence, or the ability to solve new problems, in older adults with epilepsy. Researchers from the USC Stem Cell lab of Michael Bonaguidi and their collaborators found that older epilepsy patients tended to have more abnormal immature astroglia in their brains, and that higher numbers of these cells were associated with poorer fluid intelligence. This ability to solve new problems declines with age and becomes impaired in Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia and multiple sclerosis.

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