High-Fat Diet Linked to Alzheimer's
Posted on: Thursday, 30 October 2008, 00:00 CDT
Neurological markers for Alzheimer's disease are exacerbated in brains of mice fed a diet rich in animal fat and poor in omega-3, Canadian researchers say.
A University of Laval research team led by Frederic Calon used a type of transgenic mice that produce two proteins found in the brains of Alzheimer patients -- tau proteins -- which prevent proper neuron functioning, and amyloid-beta, associated with the formation of senile plaques within the brains of afflicted patients.
The researchers fed transgenic and regular mice different diets for nine months, then compared the effects on the animals' brains.
The mice whose diet was poor in omega-3 and rich in fat -- 60 percent of consumed calories -- showed amyloid-beta and tau protein concentrations respectively 8.7 and 1.5 times higher than the control group mice, whose food contained seven times less fat. The high-fat diet also reduced drebrin protein levels in the brain, another characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.
"Metabolic changes induced by such a diet could affect the inflammatory response in the brain," study co-author Carl Julien said.
The findings are published in the latest online edition of Neurobiology of Aging.
Source: United Press International
Related Articles
- Pre-Clinical Study Using Martek's DHA Reduces Brain Lesions in Alzheimer's Animal Model
- Study: Med Diet Cuts Alzheimer's Risk
- Study Implicates Ignored Brain Cell in Alzheimer's
- Diet reduces Alzheimer's protein in mice: study
- 'Daydreaming' Region of Brain Fails in Alzheimer's Patients
- Research Suggests Brain Changes in Alzheimer’s Disease Are More Likely to Present as Dementia in Women than In Men
- Brain Scans Assess Alzheimer's Risk
- Brain Injections Lower Alzheimer's Plaques in Mice
- Study on Mice Reverses Damage of Alzheimer's
- Inhibition of Hedgehog Signaling Protects Adult Mice From Diet- Induced Weight Gain1
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds