Enriched Butter Can Now Benefit Individuals Suffering From Alzheimer’s Disease

The modified butter is enriched with conjugated linoleic acid that increases the activity of an enzyme related to memory and reduces damage caused by the disease.

Individuals in their initial stages of Alzheimer’s can now benefit from consuming butter enriched with a special fatty acid extracted from milk.

Tests showed a diet rich in the modified butter increases the activity of an enzyme linked to memory and reduces damage caused by the disease to this function, said the University of Sao Paulo (USP).

Risk Factors for Alzheimers Disease
Cognitively normal adults exhibiting atrophy of their temporal lobe or damage to blood vessels in the brain are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

The results of the project, authored by researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at USP, were featured in the latest edition of the international scientific Journal of Neural Transmission.

According to the researchers, conjugated linoleic acid, an acid extracted from dairy fats, helps the body to increase activity of phospholipase A2, an enzyme that acts on memory, in the brain.

The enzyme acts directly on the fats that make up cell membranes, which, among other functions, helps in memory formation.

Inability to Recognize Familiar Smells Could Signal Alzheimers
People who have difficulty recognizing familiar smells could be experiencing an early sign of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published Monday.

In healthy patients, these membranes are flexible and are renewed periodically but the carriers of Alzheimer's are rigid, hinder the release of fatty acids, and cannot be replaced at the same rate.

"We saw that the action of this enzyme is altered in Alzheimer's patients, so we began to analyze how we could alter the metabolism of A2 phospholipase in these patients," explained Leda Talib, the head of the Neurosciences Laboratory of the USP, who coordinated the project.

Brain Protein Could be Targeted to Slow Alzheimer�s, Study Reveals
A protein that is involved in limiting flexibility in the aging brain could be targeted by new treatments which can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Experiments with mice, which began five years ago, showed the treatment is effective in patients in early stages of the disease, but researchers are trying to determine whether it can also prevent the disease.

"When the symptoms begin to appear it is because the disease is already established. We do not know at what point it begins, but we will investigate to determine whether the treatment can also be preventive," she said.

Baxter Admits Experimental Alzheimer�s Treatment is Unsuccessful
American pharmaceutical giant Baxter revealed that its experimental treatment that could have slowed down the mental impairment in Alzheimer’s disease patients has been unsuccessful.

Talib added there needs to be more experiments with mice to establish the collateral effects of the modified butter diet, before clinical trials on humans can begin. "We need to establish whether this diet may cause damage to your health," she concluded.

Source-IANS