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According to a recent study, changing your eating habits could have a beneficial effect in countering Alzheimer’s disease. A particular diet would be very helpful. Which ? Find out quickly!
Among all its harms, Alzheimer’s disease disrupts the body’s circadian rhythm, the internal biological clock, which regulates many of our physiological processes. Thus, nearly 80% of patients suffer from a disturbed rhythm, which causes difficulty sleeping and a deterioration of cognitive functions at night. Unfortunately, no treatment to date targets this aspect of the disease. But a new study carried out by researchers from San Diego has shown in mice that it is possible to correct the circadian disruptions observed in Alzheimer’s disease… thanks to a time-limited diet.
Intermittent fasting leads to cognitive improvement
The researchers tested this strategy on mice (used as a model of Alzheimer’s disease) by feeding them on a time-limited schedule based on intermittent fasting: they were only allowed to eat during a window of six hours each day (which is equivalent to 14 hours of fasting per day for a human!).
Numerous benefits were thus observed in mice fed following fasting, compared to control mice which received food at all times:
- Better memory;
- Less hyperactivity at night;
- More regular and less disturbed sleep;
- Better results on cognitive assessments.
Researchers also observed improvements at the molecular level. In mice fed on a restricted schedule, researchers found that several genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease and neuroinflammation were differentially expressed.
They also found that the feeding program helped reduce the amount of amyloid protein accumulated in the brain, while amyloid deposits are one of the best-known features of Alzheimer’s disease.
Disruption of the circadian rhythm and Alzheimer’s disease: dangerous connections?
These results also give rise to a new theory in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease:
“For many years we assumed that the circadian disruptions seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease were the result of neurodegeneration, but we are now learning that it could be the opposite: the circadian disruptions could be the “one of the main drivers of Alzheimer’s disease” said the study’s lead author, Paula Desplats, “This makes circadian disruptions a promising target for new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, and our results provide proof of concept for a simple and accessible way to correct these disruptions.”
Although these results have not yet been confirmed in humans, they raise real hope.
“Time-restricted feeding is a strategy that people can easily and immediately integrate into their lives. If we can replicate our results in humans, this approach could be a simple way to significantly improve the lives of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and those who care for them” conclude the authors.
Real hope as an editorial published in JAMA on July 31 calls into question the real impact of new treatments against Alzheimer’s disease.