A brain repair kit that helps yaks and other animals naturally cope with low oxygen levels at high altitudes may point to a new way to treat brain diseases such as multiple sclerosis. In mice with brain damage that mimics MS, the kit’s tools lessened signs of damage in young mice exposed to low oxygen and improved symptoms of MS in adult mice, researchers report March 13 in Neuron.
Previous research found that animals living on the Tibetan Plateau, such as yaks and antelopes, carry a mutation in a gene called Retsat. Their lowland counterparts lack the mutation, leading scientists to suspect that it helps protect the brain in