Diet, and specifically the type and amount of lipids (fats) consumed, may have a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease. An EU-funded research project called 'LIPIDIET', with researchers from seven countries, is focusing on the connection between dietary fat and this disease.
In recent years scientists have learned that cholesterol increases the formation of amyloid, a special protein that has a link with Alzheimer's disease. Cholesterol levels can be influenced by diet, but there is still a lack of knowledge about the relationship between cholesterol, diet and the disease.
The EU-funded project now underway is essentially divided into three main parts. Firstly, the substances that could reduce amyloid production are screened in laboratory conditions, secondly, these substances are then added to animal food and their function analysed in laboratory animals. Finally, a third step will investigate the diet in humans and the relationship between dietary habits and the disease in a selected group of people suffering from it.
In the future, the project partners, led by Dr. Tobias Hartmann at Heidelberg university in Germany, hope to find out more about prevention, delay or slow down of Alzheimer's disease through dietary components.
Alzheimer's disease is a fatal disease affecting higher brain function. During the average lifetime, approximately one third of the EC population develop Alzheimer's disease, making it the major neural disorder in Europe. The disease usually becomes apparent after the sixties, but it can also start earlier. Alzheimer's disease is clearly recognised as a disease and not a process of normal ageing, report the scientists.