In a study from University Medicine Greifswald, scientists have found a new biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease.
They found that increased spermidine blood levels are an indicator of advanced brain aging.
This means that spermidine could play a role during the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
In the study, the team used data from a population-based study (SHIP—Study of Health in Pomerania) that included 659 healthy people
Spermidine is a molecule that can be found in all our cells. It can be formed in the body from precursors, and we absorb it through food.
It helps cells to eliminate cellular waste, i.e. parts of the cell that is no longer needed. This process is also called autophagy. It is assumed that spermidine uses autophagy to slow down the aging process at the cell level.
Moreover, it is also known that higher dietary spermidine intake benefits various aspects of general health, body defense, and memory maintenance in older animals and humans.
In contrast, research has shown that elevated spermidine tissue levels, e.g. in different brain areas, are an indicator of Alzheimer’s disease.
In the study, the team used four MRI-based brain markers and was able to show that increased spermidine blood levels were linked to advanced brain aging.
Study participants were healthy and had no diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
This study suggests that physiological spermidine blood levels do not reflect the beneficial health effects observed with higher dietary spermidine intake in animal models and human studies.
Additionally, results show that spermidine blood levels could be used as a potential biomarker for preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.
This is important since blood-based biomarkers for Alzheimer’s disease are less expensive and less of a strain on patients’ bodies when compared to cerebrospinal fluid diagnostics, which entails the extraction of fluid from the spinal cavity
If you care about Alzheimer’s, please read studies about antioxidants that could help reduce the risk of dementia, and 5 steps to protect against Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
For more information about brain health, please see recent studies that herb rosemary could help fight COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease, and results showing this stuff in mouth may help prevent Alzheimer’s.
The study was conducted by Prof. Agnes Flöel et al and published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
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