Despite consistent efforts to develop cures and treatments, Alzheimer's disease still does not have a cure. Nevertheless, continuous efforts are still exerted to know more about the cause, course, and factors linked to the neurodegenerative condition's development.
Now, researchers have proposed that a type of sugar, known as fructose, may play a role in driving the development of the neurodegenerative condition.
Fructose
Many foods, especially honey, fruits, and vegetables, are known to contain fructose. However, the body can also perform its production naturally. For example, the body can do so within pathways that are activated by high salt consumption.
According to Science Alert, previous studies have shown that fructose within the brain assisted humans' ancestors when it came to food foraging. More specifically, the sugar helped inhibit certain brain metabolic areas. This switching off enabled these ancestors to focus more on survival. It also prompted behaviors of exploration and risk-taking, which are vital when it comes to foraging.
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Fructose Could Be Driving Alzheimer's Disease Development
However, a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that the triggers brought about by fructose are actually associated with Alzheimer's disease. Neuroscience News reports that they present a case that suggests how diet drives Alzheimer's disease.
More specifically, the authors also argue that the switch that was present in human ancestors is on permanently, even if several individuals today hardly forage. This, in turn, drives individuals to consume food that is high in fat, sugar, and salt and that exceeds the body's needed levels for fructose production.
This may result in brain inflammation and other conditions linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to the researchers.
Neuroscience News notes that animals that were offered fructose exhibited lapses in their memory, neural inflammation, and ability loss when it came to maze navigation.
According to Nephrologist Richard Johnson from the Anschutz Medical Center at the University of Colorado, a different study discovered that keeping lab rats with fructose for lengthy periods resulted in rats getting tau and amyloid beta proteins within their brains. These proteins were the same ones observed in Alzheimer's disease.
Johnson thinks that the tendency for certain Alzheimer's Disease patients to wander around could be due to this prehistoric foraging response.
The next step for the researchers would be to conduct further testing in order to examine what fructose and uric acid metabolism do in the brain. It is also necessary to look into how these could facilitate conditions linked to Alzheimer's disease.
Johnson also says that they suggest pharmacologic and dietary trials to decrease exposure to fructose and block its metabolism. They deem it necessary to see if it could help with preventing, managing, or treating the neurodegenerative condition.
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