British researchers from the universities of Leeds, Edinburgh and Dundee have found outhow the brain protects itself from damage when it is “low on energy”. The findings could lead to new treatments for patients at risk for stroke.
Many regions of the brain consume more energy than the leg muscles during a marathon. Even when we sleepthe brain needs fuel on a regular basis. Much of this energy is needed to activate action potentials – the tiny electrical impulses that travel through neurons. These electrical impulses cause the release of chemical messages in the nerve endings, which allows the brain to process information and control functions of the body.
Normally, the blood supplies enough glucose and oxygen to the brain to generate the large amount of energy needed to activate these action potentials. However,if the blood vessels supplying the brain become narrowed or blocked, the supply of vital nutrients is restricted. A team of researchers has discovered that when this happens and the energy supply begins to deplete, the brain starts aprotection strategy, triggered by the AMPK protein, which reduces the frequency of electrical impulses, saving energy. That is, if brain cells run out of energy, they begin to act more slowly.
As the authors explain in the latest issue of the journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new findings could lead, in the long term, to develop newtreatments for patients with brain circulation problems, who are at increased risk of diseases such as stroke.
