In the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936, faster cognitive decline lined up with abnormal myelin and lower NRF2 in support cells

What the research found

Study (human brain tissue and mice). Georgina A. Craig, Véronique E. Miron, and colleagues at the University of Edinburgh and the UK Dementia Research Institute report in Nature Medicine (2026; 32(10):3661; DOI 10.1038/s41591-026-04608-y). ScienceDaily ran it on 17 Oct 2026. The Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 enrolled 1,091 people. Of them, 866 completed extra cognitive testing after age 70, covering memory, processing speed, and spatial understanding between ages 70 and 82. Nearly everyone declined, at different rates. In tissue after death, people with a steeper decline had fewer large nerve fibers and an abnormal buildup of unhealthy myelin, especially around the large fibers that remained. The pattern tracked the pace of decline, not a single test score. Those brains also had less NRF2 inside oligodendrocytes, the cells that make myelin. Mice with NRF2 lowered only in those cells grew excess myelin, lost large fibers, and showed smaller cognitive gains with age. A pathway already targeted in multiple sclerosis is a research lead, not a reason to use that treatment for ordinary aging. Not medical advice. Not a substitute for a prescribed medicine. Off-label use is clinician-only.

Evidence level: Animal study. Results in animals or cells often don't carry over to people.

Read the original at University of Edinburgh / Nature Medicine