Analysis of the interaction between neurotrophins and cytokines with age

Abstract

Aging is associated with an increase in the concentration of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1β in the hippocampus and cortex. This has been shown to have deleterious effects on the brain and specifically on a hippocampal model of learning and memory, long-term potentiation (LTP). It has been postulated that this increase in IL-1β concentration may affect glutamate release, a factor that has been shown to be important in the expression of LTP in perforant path granule synapses. The ability of the putative anti-inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid in reversing certain age-related changes in the hippocampus and cortex was also assessed in this study.