Caloric intake and Alzheimer's disease. Experimental approaches and therapeutic implications.

Caloric intake and Alzheimer's disease. Experimental approaches and therapeutic implications. Interdiscip Top Gerontol. 2007;35:159-75 Authors: Pasinetti GM, Zhao Z, Qin W, Ho L, Shrishailam Y, Macgrogan D, Ressmann W, Humala N, Liu X, Romero C, Stetka B, Chen L, Ksiezak-Reding H, Wang J Abstract Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a rapidly growing public health concern with potentially devastating effects. Presently, there are no known cures or effective preventive strategies. While genetic factors are relevant in early-onset cases, they appear to play less of a role in late-onset sporadic AD cases, the most common form of AD. Due to the fact that the disease typically strikes very late in life, delaying symptoms could be as good as a cure for many people. For example, it is now widely accepted that if the onset of the disease could be delayed by even 5 years, the incidence could be cut in half. Both clinical and epidemiological evidence suggests that modification of lifestyle factors such as nutrition may prove crucial to AD management given the mounting experimental evidence suggesting that brain cells are remarkably responsive to "what somebody is doing". Among other nongenetic factors influencing AD, recent studies strongly support the evidence that caloric intake may play a role in the relative risk for AD clinical dementia. Indeed, the effect of diet in AD has been an area of research that has produced promising results, at least exp...
Source: Interdisciplinary Topics in Gerontology - Category: Geriatrics Tags: Interdiscip Top Gerontol Source Type: research