Cognitive Labs

Researchers at the University of South Florida and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that two molecules - luteolin and diosmin - found in some plants may have a beneficial effect in brain tissue linked with Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers, led by Terrence Town, Ph.D., a research scientist with the departments of Neurosurgery and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, indicated that luteolin and diosmin reduced levels of amloid-beta, which forms the sticky deposits that build up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

In the study, molecules called flavonoids, which are found in certain fruits and vegetables, were administered to a mouse model genetically programmed to develop Alzheimer's disease.

When the researchers used two of these molecules, luteolin and diosmin, they could successfully reduce the levels of a protein called amyloid-beta, which forms the sticky deposits that build up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's.

They said that these molecules work by targeting a protein called presenilin-1, which has long been linked to Alzheimer's as a genetic cause of this devastating and untreatable illness.

The findings of the study may have future implications in developing a new approach to therapy for patients suffering from this neurodegenerative illness, which is the most common cause of dementia and is estimated to affect more than five million people in the United States.

"These flavonoids are widely available in natural foods and it appears that they may be used in purified form as therapeutic agents. The compounds have few if any side effects and are naturally occurring in citrus fruits. They also can be found as dietary supplements in health food stores," said Town.

Labels: flavenoids, flavenols, flavonols

A natural compound found in blueberries, tea, grapes, and cocoa enhances memory in mice, according to newly published research. This effect increased further when mice also exercised regularly.

"This finding is an important advance because it identifies a single natural chemical with memory-enhancing effects, suggesting that it may be possible to optimize brain function by combining exercise and dietary supplementation," says Mark Mattson, PhD, at the National Institute on Aging.

The compound, epicatechin, is one of a group of chemicals known as flavonols and has been shown previously to improve cardiovascular function in people and increase blood flow in the brain. Flavonols are found in some chocolate. Henriette van Praag, PhD, of the Salk Institute, and colleagues there and at Mars, Inc., showed that the combination of exercise and a diet with epicatechin also promoted structural and functional changes in the dentate gyrus, a part of the brain involved in the formation of learning and memory. The findings, published in the May 30 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, suggest that a diet rich in flavonols may help reduce the incidence or severity of neurodegenerative disease or cognitive disorders related to aging.

Van Praag and her team compared mice fed a typical diet with those fed a diet supplemented with epicatechin. Half the mice in each group were allowed to run on a wheel for two hours each day. After a month, the mice were trained to find a platform hidden in a pool of water. Those that both exercised and ate the epicatechin diet remembered the location of the platform longer than the other mice.

read more at Physorg

Labels: blueberries, early onset alzheimers, flavenols, mice

Eating chocolate could help to sharpen up the mind and give a short-term boost to cognitive skills, a University of Nottingham expert has found.

A study led by Professor Ian Macdonald found that consumption of a cocoa drink rich in flavanols — a key ingredient of dark chocolate — boosts blood flow to key areas of the brain for two to three hours.

Increased blood flow to these areas of the brain may help to increase performance in specific tasks and boost general alertness over a short period.

The findings, unveiled at one of the biggest scientific conferences in America, also raise the prospect of ingredients in chocolate being used to treat vascular impairment, including dementia and strokes, and thus for maintaining cardiovascular health.

The study also suggests that the cocoa flavanols found in chocolate could be useful in enhancing brain function for people fighting fatigue, sleep deprivation, and even the effects of ageing.

Ian Macdonald, professor of metabolic physiology at The University of Nottingham, used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect increased activity in specific areas of the brain in individuals who had consumed a single drink of flavanol-rich cocoa. The effect is linked to dilation of cerebral blood vessels, allowing more blood — and therefore more oxygen — to reach key areas of the brain.

Flavanols are not only found in chocolate with a high cocoa content — they are also present in other substances such as red wine, green tea and blueberries.

He presented his research at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), one of the biggest annual gatherings of scientists from all over the world. This year's meeting takes place in San Francisco from February 15–19.

Professor Macdonald said: “Acute consumption of this particular flavanol-rich cocoa beverage was associated with increased grey matter flow for two to three hours.

“The demonstration of an effect of consuming this particular beverage on cerebral blood flow raises the possibility that certain food ingredients may be beneficial in increasing brain blood flow and enhancing brain function, in situations where individuals are cognitively impaired such as fatigue, sleep deprivation, or possibly ageing.”

He emphasised that the level of cocoa flavanol used in the study is not available commercially. The cocoa-rich flavanol beverage was specially formulated for the purpose of the study.

Co-authors on the research were Dr Susan Francis, research associate Kay Head, and Professor Peter Morris, all from The University of Nottingham's School of Physics and Astronomy.

Professor Macdonald is a member of the Food Standards Agency's Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, and is President-Elect of the UK Nutrition Society. His main research interests are concerned with the functional consequences of metabolic and nutritional disturbances in health and disease, with specific interests in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and exercise.

The AAAS, founded in 1848, is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the prestigious international journal Science. Its annual conference draws up to 10,000 attendees.

Labels: brain, chocolate, flavenols