A low protein diet may make Alzheimer’s develop faster

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Scientists from the National Institutes for Quantum Sciences and Technology found that a low protein diet can accelerate brain degeneration in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.

More importantly, they found that Amino LP7—a supplement containing seven specific amino acids—can slow down brain degeneration and dementia development in these animals.

Dementia—a condition involving the extreme loss of cognitive function—is caused by a variety of disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.

According to World Health Organization estimates, approximately 10 million individuals worldwide develop dementia every year, indicating the high psychological and social impact of this condition.

Dementia mainly affects older people, and so far, simple and effective strategies for preventing this condition have remained elusive.

In older people, low protein diets are linked to poor maintenance of brain function. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

In the study, the team aimed to understand whether supplementation with essential amino acids can protect the brains of older people from dementia.

First, the researchers studied how a low protein diet affects the brain in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease, which generally demonstrate neurodegeneration and abnormal protein aggregates called “Tau” aggregates in the brain.

They found that mice consuming a low protein diet not only showed accelerated brain degeneration but also had signs of poor neuronal connectivity.

Interestingly, these effects were reversed after supplementation with Amino LP7, indicating that the combination of seven specific amino acids could inhibit brain damage.

Next, the research team examined how Amino LP7 affects different signs of brain degeneration in the Alzheimer’s model.

Untreated mice showed high levels of progressive brain degeneration, but Amino LP7 treatment suppressed neuronal death and thereby reduced brain degeneration, even though the Tau aggregates remained.

The team also found that Amino LP7 reduces brain inflammation and also prevents kynurenine, an inflammation inducer, from entering the brain, thereby preventing inflammatory immune cells from attacking neurons.

They also found that Amino LP7 reduces neuronal death and improves neuronal connectivity, improving brain function.

These results suggest that essential amino acids can help maintain balance in the brain and prevent brain deterioration. The study is the first to report that specific amino acids can hinder the development of dementia

Given that Amino LP7 improves brain function in older people without cognitive impairment, their findings suggest that it could also be effective in people with cognitive dysfunction.

If you care about Alzheimer’s disease, please read studies about daytime napping strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease, and how to treat mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

For more information about brain health, please see recent studies about how Alzheimer’s disease is treated, and results showing alternative drug strategy against Alzheimer’s disease.

The research was published in Science Advances and conducted by Dr. Makoto Higuchi et al.

Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.