(Press-News.org) Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have discovered that the nervous system's own immune cells help protect the spinal cord from age-related damage. The results, which may contribute to new knowledge about how certain neurological diseases arise, are published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Ageing affects the entire body, including the spinal cord, which transmits signals between the brain and the rest of the body. The negative consequences of ageing are well known, but could there be positive, protective mechanisms activated?
The researchers at Karolinska Institutet investigated how ageing affects myelin, the protective layer which envelops nerve fibres in the brain and spinal cord. By studying mice of different ages, the researchers found that the myelin in a specific region of the spinal cord – the dorsal columns – gradually accumulates damage during ageing.
The researchers focused on the immune cells of the brain and spinal cord, microglia, which help to keep the nervous system functioning properly.
“It is known that microglia can affect the quality of myelin, so we wanted to understand how these cells respond to age-related myelin damage," says Harald Lund, Assistant Professor at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Karolinska Institutet.
In the ageing spinal cord, the researchers discovered that the microglia activated a signalling molecule called TGF-beta. This appears to act as a brake, preventing the cells from becoming overactive and damaging nerve fibres.
To test the significance of this brake, the researchers switched off TGF-beta production in older mice. Without the signal, the microglia began to attack the myelin, resulting in the mice developing clinical movement problems.
“Damage has also been found in this particular region of the spinal cord in people with certain neurological diseases. Our results may help us understand why,” says Robert Harris, Professor at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience at Karolinska Institutet, who led the research together with Harald Lund.
The study was conducted in collaboration with researchers in China, the United States, and France. Funding was provided by the Swedish Research Council, Alltid Litt Sterkere, Neurofonden and Karolinska Institutet's research initiative StratNeuro, among others. The researchers report no conflicts of interest.
Publication: "TGFβ signaling mediates microglial resilience to spatiotemporally restricted myelin degeneration" Keying Zhu, Yun Liu, Jin-Hong Min, Vijay Joshua, Jianing Lin, Yue Li, Judith C. Kreutzmann, Yuxi Guo, Wenlong Xia, Elyas Mohammadi, Melanie Pieber, Valerie Suerth, Yiming Xia, Zaneta, Andrusivova, Jean-Philippe Hugnot, Shigeaki Kanatani, Per Uhlén, Joakim Lundeberg, Xiaofei Li, Stephen P.J. Fancy, Heela Sarlus, Robert A. Harris, Harald Lund, Nature Neuroscience, online 2 January 2026, doi: 10.1038/s41593-025-02161-4.
END
As we age, immune cells protect the spinal cord
2026-01-07
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New expert guidance urges caution before surgery for patients with treatment-resistant constipation
2026-01-07
Bethesda, MD (Dec. 26, 2025) — A new update from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is calling for greater caution before surgery is considered for patients with refractory constipation, a severe, chronic form of constipation that does not respond to standard treatments.
Chronic constipation affects 8–12% of Americans. While most patients improve with conventional treatments, a small but challenging subset remains refractory. These patients often undergo extensive ...
Solar hydrogen can now be produced efficiently without the scarce metal platinum
2026-01-07
A research team led by Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have presented a new way to produce hydrogen gas without the scarce and expensive metal platinum. Using sunlight, water and tiny particles of electrically conductive plastic, the researchers show how the hydrogen can be produced efficiently, sustainably and at low cost.
Hydrogen plays a key role in the global pursuit for renewable energy. Although its use produces only water as a by-product, significant challenges remain before hydrogen can be produced both on a large-scale and in an environmentally friendly way.
A major challenge is the use of the metal platinum as a co-catalyst when sunlight and water ...
Sleeping in on weekends may help boost teens’ mental health
2026-01-07
Sleeping in on the weekend to catch up on sleep lost during the week may be good for adolescents’ mental health, according to new research by the University of Oregon and the State University of New York Upstate Medical University.
The study found that a group of young people, age 16 to 24, who caught up on sleep on the weekend had a 41 percent lower risk for symptoms of depression than a group who didn’t.
The findings, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, highlight the important ...
Study: Teens use cellphones for an hour a day at school
2026-01-07
U.S. adolescents spend more than one hour per day on smartphones during school hours, with social media accounting for the largest share of use, according to research published Jan. 5, 2026, in JAMA. The findings have relevance for educators, parents and policymakers.
The study reflects the behavior of 640 adolescents ages 13-18 who were enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. They and their parents had consented to have software placed on their Android cellphones ...
After more than two years of war, Palestinian children are hungry, denied education and “like the living dead”
2026-01-07
More than two years of war in Gaza have left many Palestinian children too weak to learn or play and convinced they will be “killed for being Gazans”, a new report warns. The University of Cambridge-led study also includes the first analysis of education in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 7 October, 2023.
The study says there is an urgent need for more international aid for education across Palestine, whether or not the present ceasefire in Gaza holds. In Gaza itself, it adds, conflict has come close to erasing children’s right to education, and with it, their very identity.
The report, which follows ...
The untold story of life with Prader-Willi syndrome - according to the siblings who live it
2026-01-07
New research from the University of East Anglia (UK) reveals the hidden struggles experienced by the brothers and sisters of people with Prader-Willi syndrome.
Prader-Willi syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes growth and learning challenges and requires lifelong care to prevent serious health issues. It is known for causing constant hunger, which can lead to over-eating and obesity.
But until now, little has been known about how the condition impacts families.
A new study published today reveals the emotional challenges faced by siblings ...
How the parasite that ‘gave up sex’ found more hosts – and why its victory won’t last
2026-01-06
Australian researchers have uncovered how a particular strain of a diarrhoea-causing parasite managed to infect more animal species, offering new insights into how parasitic infections emerge and spread to people.
The WEHI-led study has revealed a genetic shortcut that may help Giardia duodenalis and many other parasites jump to new hosts at the cost of long-term survival. The findings may also help explain how parasites evolve drug resistance, with implications for treatment strategies worldwide.
Understanding these dynamics could inform public health surveillance and guide efforts to anticipate zoonotic ...
When is it time to jump? The boiling frog problem of AI use in physics education
2026-01-06
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2026 — Generative AI is becoming ubiquitous in everyday life. Large language models like ChatGPT can help answer questions, write emails, and solve problems at seemingly lightning speed, pulling from enormous datasets to engage in conversations with their users. Generative AI tools are increasingly used in classrooms, too, sometimes to supplement learning and sometimes to cut corners.
Because of this, many teachers have expressed concerns about this powerful tool’s impact on student learning and development. In The Physics Teacher, a journal co-published by AIP Publishing and the American Association of Physics Teachers, a physics professor-turned-AI-researcher ...
Twitter data reveals partisan divide in understanding why pollen season's getting worse
2026-01-06
Two things are clear from a University of Michigan analysis of nearly 200,000 Twitter posts between 2012 and 2022.
One, people are really good at identifying peak pollen season: The largest volume of tweets about pollen often lined up with pollen counters hitting their biggest numbers. And two, liberal users on Twitter were more likely than conservatives to ascribe shifting pollen seasons over the years to climate change.
"There is a partisan gap in how we perceive the pollen seasons that are very relevant to our day-to-day life and even our health," said Yiluan Song, the lead author of the new report in ...
AI is quick but risky for updating old software
2026-01-06
At first glance, artificial intelligence looks like a software developer’s dream. A recent McKinsey & Company report found that programmers generated code up to 45% faster with the help of generative AI.
But if it’s not used strategically, AI can become a developer’s nightmare. So says Edward Anderson Jr., professor of information, risk, and operations management and Betty and Glenn Mortimer Centennial Professor in Business at Texas McCombs.
The problem arises when AI ...