A compound is linked to better cognition mainly in male mice

In an experiment in six-month-old mice, researchers tested how biological sex influences brain aging and responses to a diterpenoid compound called ER272. They compared male and female SAMP8 mice, an accelerated aging strain that develops Alzheimer-like damage, alongside normal SAMR1 control mice. Male control mice had higher baseline neurogenesis, the creation of new brain cells, than females. In the accelerated aging strain, males and females followed distinct trajectories of new cell growth. Treatment with ER272 was associated with improved cognitive performance and the preservation of several neurogenic measures in males. In females, however, the treatment showed limited effects.