Dasatinib+quercetin Causes Severe Myelin Loss in Mice
SkimNews Take
The drug combination's greater damage in younger mice suggests an age-dependent vulnerability to its neurotoxic effects, potentially impacting different cellular repair mechanisms across lifespans.
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- Dasatinib+quercetin caused severe myelin loss in mice, with younger animals experiencing greater damage than aged ones.
- University of Connecticut researchers reported the findings in PNAS, linking D+Q exposure to cognitive deficits resembling “chemo brain” and multiple sclerosis pathology.
- Stephen Crocker noted that the drug damages myelin in both young and old mice, emphasizing the unexpected severity in younger subjects.
- Evan Lombardo and colleague Robert Pijewski showed that D+Q harms oligodendrocytes, the cells that produce myelin, providing a mechanistic clue to the observed demyelination.
Why it matters: Longevity researchers and biotech firms developing D+Q risk setbacks as the study shows brain toxicity, potentially halting clinical trials and reducing investor confidence in anti‑aging therapies.
