Revolutionary Breakthrough: Klotho a Protein that Boosts Cognitive Abilities when injected to Primates

Klotho could hold the key to Alzheimer’s treatment

There are over 55 million people living with dementia globally, with 10 million new cases annually, informs WHO.

70 percent is caused by Alzheimer‘s disease, the most common form of dementia.

Cognitive impairment is the beginning of dementia processes that appear because of various diseases affecting the brain.

Recently, according to a study published in the prestigious journal Nature, the administration of a protein called klotho in elderly primates improved cognitive function.

This could lead, according to the UNQ Scientific News Agency, to clinical trials in humans in the medium term.

What is Klotho?

Klotho is a protein found naturally in the body whose levels decrease with age. The name is from the Greek goddess Clotho, one of the grim reapers who weaves the thread of life.

The prestigious American doctor Eric Topol, affirmed that the genetic variants in klotho protect against Alzheimer’s, according to scientific work, through injections of the protein, which improves cognition in elderly non-human primates.

Scientists from the UK Dementia Research Institute and the University of California showed that injecting this protein into rhesus monkeys with an average age of 22 improved their cognitive abilities. Testing for a treatment for Alzheimer‘s.

To test these abilities and test spatial memory, the researchers used a behavioral experiment: the monkeys had to remember the location of an edible treat after the researchers hid it.

Before the injections, the animals were successful 40 percent of the time, while after the injection this percentage rose to 60 percent. It is also worth mentioning that the improvement was maintained for two weeks.

The success achieved in remembering the location of the candy is compared, according to scientists, with locating where the car was left parked, or with remembering a sequence of numbers a few minutes after hearing it.

Tasks become more difficult to solve as time goes on. It is the first time that this phenomenon was evidenced in primates.

Previous tests had been carried out in mice and it was proven that klotho extended life and improved neuronal communication.

While there is evidence of benefits, it is not yet known how klotho injection works.

This protein cannot cross the blood-brain barrier. If Klotho can‘t get through, the researchers think the answer lies in the intermediaries that are generated.

The specialist Eric Topol pointed out that klotho levels increase in the blood after performing aerobic exercise. Physical exercise can be an alternative to counteract the effects of aging. However, the optimal physiological concentration is still unknown.

A better understanding of how the protein works is crucial in order to understand its clinical potential and arrive at effective treatments in the future.

Source: Castner, S.A., Gupta, S., Wang, D. et al. Longevity factor klotho enhances cognition in aged nonhuman primates. Nat Aging (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-023-00441-x

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