spook haploinsufficiency exacerbates aging-related motor impairments

The global rise in aging populations heightens the risk of motor decline, reducing quality of life and increasing morbidities, yet aging-related motor impairments (AMI) remain poorly understood. Many steroid hormones synthesized by cytochrome P450 enzymes decline with aging but their role in AMI is unclear. Here we show that spook heterozygous flies with reduced brain ecdysone exhibit accelerated, aging-related declines in climbing performance in a stimulus-induced negative geotaxis assay, without affecting basal activity. These findings implicate ecdysone signaling as a critical regulator of aging-sensitive motor function and suggest a conserved steroid pathway contributing to AMI across species.