New Research - Fast Food = Alzheimer's

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From Reuters.com

Research on mice links fast food to Alzheimer's

Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:44pm EST Email | Print | Share| Reprints | Single

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1 of 1Full SizeLONDON (Reuters) - Mice fed junk food for nine months

showed signs of developing the abnormal brain tangles strongly

associated with Alzheimer's disease, a Swedish researcher said on

Friday.

The findings, which come from a series of published papers by a

researcher at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, show how a diet rich in

fat, sugar and cholesterol could increase the risk of the most common

type of dementia.

" On examining the brains of these mice, we found a chemical change

not unlike that found in the Alzheimer brain, " ne Akterin, a

researcher at the Karolinska Institutet's Alzheimer's Disease

Research Center, who led the study, said in a statement.

" We now suspect that a high intake of fat and cholesterol in

combination with genetic factors ... can adversely affect several

brain substances, which can be a contributory factor in the

development of Alzheimer's. "

Alzheimer's disease is incurable and is the most common form of

dementia among older people. It affects the regions of the brain

involving thought, memory and language.

While the most advanced drugs have focused on removing clumps of beta

amyloid protein that forms plaques in the brain, researchers are also

now looking at therapies to address the toxic tangles caused by an

abnormal build-up of the protein tau.

In her research, Akterin focused on a gene variant called apoE4,

found in 15 to 20 percent of people and which is a known risk factor

for Alzheimer's. The gene is involved in the transport of cholesterol.

She studied mice genetically engineered to mimic the effect of the

variant gene in humans, and which were fed a diet rich in fat, sugar

and cholesterol for nine months -- meals representing the nutritional

content of fast food.

These mice showed chemical changes in their brains, indicating an

abnormal build-up of the protein tau as well as signs that

cholesterol in food reduced levels of another protein called Arc

involved in memory storage, Akterin said.

" All in all, the results give some indication of how Alzheimer's can

be prevented, but more research in this field needs to be done before

proper advice can be passed on to the general public, " she said.

(Reporting by Kahn; Editing by Bosley)