A substance found in foods like pomegranates, strawberries and walnuts restored the ability to detect and eliminate damaged cells in mice modeling Alzheimer’s disease, scientists report in a new paper.
The same research team previously discovered a form of vitamin B3 called nicotinamide riboside (NR) helps remove damaged mitochondria from the brain.
When these neurological “cleaning” systems are disrupted, waste begins to accumulate, paving the way for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“Many patients with neurodegenerative diseases suffer from mitochondrial dysfunction, also known as mitophagy. This means that the brain has difficulty removing weak mitochondria, which build up and affect brain function,” explains University of Copenhagen the biochemist Vilhelm Bohr.
“If you can stimulate the process of mitophagy, eliminating weak mitochondria, you will achieve very positive results.”
Getting these brain garbage trucks running again means that some of the brain waste associated with Alzheimer’s disease – which ultimately contributes to the amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles that characterize the disease – can be removed, so that the entire system runs a little smoother for a while. a little longer.
In their previous study, mice with a model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were supplemented with the compound NR, reducing tangled proteins and DNA damage in their brains by stimulating the production of a essential metabolic coenzyme called nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD).
Bohr and his colleagues discovered Urolithin A, the substance found in pomegranates, offers a similar boost to the struggling brain.
Researchers found that AD mouse models that received long-term treatment with urolithin A had improved learning, memory, and smell abilities.
This affected a protein called cathepsin Z, which appears to be overactive in AD brains and play a role in inflammation. Urolithin A treatment limited production of the protein, to a level comparable to that of non-Alzheimer’s brains. In its absence, certain cellular processes contributing to the degradation of biological waste were restored.
Urolithin A treatment has also been found to modulate immune responses and other physiological pathways specific to AD.
Supplements like this won’t necessarily prevent or cure diseases like Alzheimer’s, but research like this suggests they could help the body continue to tidy up growing piles of molecular debris, potentially slowing the progression of the disease.
“The advantage of working with a natural substance is the reduced risk of side effects,” says Bohr.
“So far, several studies show that there are no serious side effects from NAD supplementation. Our knowledge of urolithin A is more limited, but as I mentioned, trials “Clinical studies with urolithin A have been effective in treating muscle diseases, and we now need to look at Alzheimer’s disease.”
Since the results are based on mice, we cannot be certain that urolithin A will have the same effects in the human brain until clinical studies are continued. Nor can we conclude that piling pomegranate seeds and strawberries on top of your cereal will have a significant impact on cognitive health. But researchers feel confident enough to keep digging.
“Even though the study was conducted on mouse models, the outlook is positive,” Bohr said.
“We still can’t say anything conclusive about the dosage. But I imagine it’s more than one pomegranate per day. However, the substance is already available in pill form and we are currently trying to find the right dosage. ”
This research was published in Alzheimer’s and dementia.
News Source : www.sciencealert.com
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