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E. coli Infection Found to Temporarily Disrupt Memory Formation

Not all cognitive decline is slow.  Older people- even those formerly healthy and higher working — are more likely to undergo an abrupt drop in mental functioning (termed delirium) after immune response.

Even though this is temporary, then it’s associated with greater chance of developing dementia.  Although clinically significant, this occurrence is significantly less studied than slow senescence and aging-associated bronchial ailments.

Now, scientists, by the means of employing a naturalistic rodent model, have tested the hypothesis that the combination of age and an immune challenge may trigger an exaggerated inflammatory state in the brain. They believe that this can, in turn, disrupts molecular systems critical for memory.

Dr. Susan Patterson in the Temple University’s Department of Biology and her colleagues from Columbia University, New York Psychiatric Institute, Temple University and the University of Colorado, Boulder, formerly Discovered that 24-month-old rats infected with Escherichia coli germs  possess a prolonged immune reaction and memory impairments compared to 3-month-old rats.

The scientists have extended these findings to demonstrate that the immune reaction in elderly rats lasts for 8-14 days and is associated with decreased rates of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that permits

the hippocampus to produce long-term memory.

The rodent model of delirium described in the study could inform future research to understand how surgery, infection, and injury — factors that activate the immune system — affect cognitive function in elderly humans,” Dr. Patterson and colleagues said.

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