The effectiveness of an enriched environment for preventing progression of cognitive impairment and astoglial damage

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K19317
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: General internal medicine(including psychosomatic medicine)
• Research Institution: Sapporo Medical University
• Principal Investigator: Nakano Masako 札幌医科大学, 医学部, 助教 (20709646)
• Research Collaborator: Kobayashi Eiji ; Kubota Kenta
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 豊かな環境 / 認知症 / アストロサイト

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated the effectiveness of an enriched environment (EE) for preventing progression of cognitive impairment. In both diabetic rats and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) mice housed in an EE, cognitive impairment was significantly reduced and astroglial damage was ameliorated.
We also investigated cognitive normal human subjects with AD brain pathology who was donated to Sapporo Medical University by the body donation program. (All study methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulation of Sapporo Medical University.) In those cases, the function of astrocytes was found to be restored compared with the cases of cognitive impaired subjects with AD brain pathology.
Therefore, astrocytes might be a key factor for preventive progression of cognitive impairment.

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまでアルツハイマー型認知症の治療薬は、コリンエステラーゼ阻害薬など、直接ニューロンを標的とした薬物が中心であるが、その効果は限定的であった。今回、EEやヒト死後脳の研究から、アストロサイトが認知機能維持に重要であることが分かり、今後アストロサイトを標的とした治療薬の開発や有効性が期待できる。
またEEの研究から、生き生きとしたライフスタイルが認知症予防につながること考えられる。このことは、認知症による医療費や介護にかかる費用を抑えられるだけでなく、社会の活性化につながると考えられる。