In a study published in the Journal of toxycology, Dr Ursula Winzer-Serhan, professor at the Texas School of Medicine (USA) and his colleagues suggest that nicotine is not just a substance that causes tobacco addiction. But that it would also have certain cognitive advantages. Indeed, by activating certain receptors in the brain (nAChR receptors), nicotine would reduce neurodegeneration. In other words, she would slow down aging brain.
Are we going to prescribe medicinal nicotine someday?
Researchers even go so far as to advocate a “medicinal use of nicotine which could have great beneficial effects on human health”.
For their study, the American researchers used mouse models to study the effects of nicotine at various doses on appetite, weight, anxiety and the level of nAChR receptors in the brain. To do this, they added nicotine to the drinking water of the mice at low, medium, or high doses.
However, the mechanism on the brain is not clear and given the addictive properties of nicotine, the use of derivatives for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders raises some reservations. “I want it to be very clear that we are not encouraging people to smoke” insists Dr Winzer-Serhan.
The next step is to conduct studies to investigate the effects of nicotine against neurodegeneration in elderly mice. The researchers also want to determine if the ability of nicotine to reduce appetite and weight gain is the reason for its protective effect against aging of the brain. Indeed, other studies have already shown that obesity caused the brain to age prematurely, from 50 years old.
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