HIGH FAT DIET POSTPONES BRAIN AGING IN MICE
New Danish-led
research suggests that signs of brain aging can be postponed in mice if placed
on a high-fat diet. In the long term, this opens the possibility of treatment
of children suffering from premature aging and patients with Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's disease. The research project is headed by the Center for Healthy
Aging, University of Copenhagen and the National Institute of Health.
When we get older,
defects begin to develop in our nervous system, our brain loses some of its
intellectual capacity, and the risk of developing diseases such as Parkinson's
and Alzheimer's increases. Alzheimer's disease is currently the fastest-growing
age-related disease.
Throughout our lives,
it is important that our cells -- to the extent possible -- keep our DNA
undamaged, and, therefore, the cells have a system that repairs the damage that
occurs all the time. Humans age when the repair system ceases to function. In diseases
such as Alzheimer's, the researchers also see damage to the DNA
A new research project
headed by the Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen and the
National Institute of Health has studied mice having a defect in their DNA
repair system. In humans, this defect causes the disorder Cockayne syndrome,
where patients prematurely age as children and die at an age of 10-12 years.
The study shows that placing a mouse model of Cockayne syndrome on a high-fat
diet will postpone aging processes such as impaired hearing and weight loss.
Fat putting a stop to
premature aging
"The study is
good news for children with Cockayne syndrome, because we do not currently have
an effective treatment. Our study suggests that a high-fat diet can postpone
aging processes. A diet high in fat also seems to postpone the aging of the brain.
The findings therefore potentially imply that patients with Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's disease in the long term may benefit from the new knowledge,"
says Professor Vilhelm Bohr from the Center for Healthy Aging, University of
Copenhagen and the National Institute of Health, who has headed the study.
Our brain has a
constant need for fuel in the form of either sugar or so-called ketones.
Ketones are the brain's fuel reserve, and, in particular, play an important
role in periods of low blood sugar levels, e.g. if you are fasting. This is
because the body breaks down fat if it needs sugar, and during this process it
produces ketones. The researchers see a particular positive effect when the
mice are given the so-called medium chain fatty acids -- e.g. from coconut oil.
Brain cells need extra
fuel
"In cells from
children with Cockayne syndrome, we have previously demonstrated that aging is
a result of the cell repair mechanism being constantly active. It eats into the
resources and causes the cell to age very quickly. We therefore hope that a
diet with a high content of coconut oil or similar fats will have a beneficial
effect, because the brain cells are given extra fuel and thus the strength to
repair the damage," says postdoc Morten Scheibye-Knudsen from the National
Institute of Health.
The study has just
been published in the scientific journal Cell Metabolism.
Comments
Post a Comment