Source: Thailand Medical News Sep 28, 2019 5 years, 2 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 8 hours, 50 minutes ago
Thailand Health Supplements.
Studies undertaken by medical researchers from the University Of Arizona have showed that a longterm dietary intakes of choline holds the propects to prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD). Choline is a relatively safe and easy to consume nutrient that is naturally present in some foods and can be used as a dietary supplement.
The team at the ASU-Banner Neurodegenerative Disease Research Center (NDRC) lead by Dr Ramon Velazquez looked into whether this nutrient could alleviate the effects of Alzheimer's. Initially the team found transgenerational benefits of AD-like symptoms in animal models whose mothers were supplemented with choline. The latest work expands this line of research by exploring the effects of choline administered in adulthood rather than in fetal models.
The team focused on female animal models bred to develop AD-like symptoms. Given the higher prevalence of AD in human females, the study sought to establish the findings in female animal models. Results showed that when these animal models are given high choline in their diet throughout life, they exhibit improvements in spatial memory, compared with those receiving a normal choline regimen.
There was already another study conducted in China and whose findings were published in July 2019 indicating the benefits of lifelong choline supplementation in male animal models with AD-like symptoms.This study nicely replicate replicate findings by this group in females.
Interestingly enough, the beneficial effects of lifelong choline supplementation reduce the activation of microglia. Microglia are specialized cells that rid the brain of deleterious debris. Although they naturally occur to keep the brain healthy, if they are overactivated, brain inflammation and neuronal death, common symptoms of AD, will occur.
The observed reductions in disease-associated microglia, which are present in various neurodegenerative diseases, offer exciting new avenues of research and suggest ways of treating a broad range of disorders, including traumatic brain injuries, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
How Choline Works
Choline acts to protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease in at least two ways, both of which are explored in the new study.
In the first way, choline blocks the production of amyloid-beta plaques. Amyloid-beta plaques are the hallmark pathology observed in Alzheimer's disease.
In the second way, choline supplementation reduces the activation of microglia. Over-activation of microglia causes brain inflammation and can eventually lead to neuronal death, thereby compromising cognitive function. Choline supplementation reduces the activation of microglia, offering further protection from the ravages of AD.
Mechanistically, the reductions in microglia activation are driven by alteration of two key receptors, the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine and Sigma-1 receptor. A new report this year found that choline can act as an agonist for Sigma-1 receptors. These results confirm that lifelong choline supplementation can alter the expression of the Sigma-1 receptor, which thereby attenuates microglia activation. (An agonist is a substance that activates a given receptor.)
Alzheimer- A Growing Problem
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About 38 million individuals are living with AD globally, and the disease is projected to afflict more than 160 million individuals in the next 20 years. Economically, the costs associated with managing Alzheimer's are expected to exceed US$80 trillion in the same time span. To develop more effective treatments, medical researchers first need to understand the disease itself, which is one of the tallest orders facing modern medicine today.
It is well understood that Alzheimer's disease causes harm to the brain long before clinical symptoms are made evident. And once these symptoms are identified, it is too late,the disease has become irreversible. In addition to causing disorientation and memory loss, the disease causes loss of motor control in those who are afflicted. Women are at a particular increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. This study shows that the simple addition of choline in the diet throughout life may reduce AD pathology in those most affected by the disease. Additionally, these results have implications for other neurodegenerative afflictions where activated microglia are rampant.
Previous research concerning Alzheimer's has indicated that there is no one factor at play. Rather, a multitude of factors that are believed to contribute to the development of the disease, including genetics, age and lifestyle. Additionally, studies suggest that diet can have a significant effect in increasing or lowering the risk of cognitive decline.A recent report suggested that plant-based diets may be determinantal due to the lack of important nutrients, including choline. Another recent report found that the increase in cases of dementia in the United Kingdom may be associated with a lack of recommendations for choline in the diet throughout life.
Choline Supplementation
The current established adequate intake level of choline for adult women (>19yrs of age) is 425mg/day, and 550mg/day for adult men. A converging line of evidence indicates that even the current recommended daily intake (RDI) may not be optimal for a proper aging process, especially in women. This is relevant, given the higher incidence of AD seen in women. This suggests that additional choline in diet may be beneficial in preventing neuropathological changes associated with the aging brain.
The tolerable upper limit (TUL) of choline unlikely to cause side effects for adult females and males (>19yrs of age) is 3500mg/day, which is 8.24 times higher than the 425mg/day recommendation for females and 6.36 times higher than the 550mg/day recommendation for males. The choline supplemented diet regimen used in the study was only 4.5 times the RDI, which is well below the TUL and makes this a safe strategy.
From a dietary source, Choline can be found in various foods.High levels of choline are found in chicken liver (3oz; 247mg), eggs (1 large egg with yolk;147mg), beef grass-fed steak (3oz; 55mg), wheat germ (1oz toast; 51mg), milk (8oz; 38mg), and Brussel sprouts (1/2 cup; 32mg).
Additionally,
health supplements containing choline, for example choline bitartrate and choline chloride, are widely available at affordable costs. The vitamin supplements containing choline are particularly relevant for those who are on plant-based diets. In
Thailand, various licensed pharmacies carry a variety of brands of Choline at very cheap prices.
Choline Benefits
It has long been recognized that choline is particularly important for brain function.The human body uses choline to produce acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter responsible for functioning memory, muscle control and mood. Choline also is used to build cell membranes and plays a vital role in regulating gene expression. Additionally, a new report in Jan 2019 found that choline acts as an agonist for Sigma-1 receptors, which are implicated in AD pathogenesis.
The researchers in this study used a water maze to determine whether the animal models with AD-like symptoms that received lifelong supplemental choline exhibited improvements in spatial memory. It was found that this was indeed the case, and subsequent examination of animal tissue extracted from the hippocampus, a brain region known to play a central role in memory formation, confirmed changes in toxic amyloid-beta and reductions in microglia activation, which reduces brain inflammation.
Due to alterations of key microglia receptors induced by choline, the improvements in behavior may be attributed to reduced microglia activation.
"We found that lifelong choline supplementation altered the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine and Sigma-1 receptor, which may have resulted in the reduction of diseased associated activated microglia. These receptors regulate CNS immune response and their dysregulation contributes to AD pathogenesis.” commented Dr Ramon Velazquez in a phone
interview with Thailand Medical News.
Choline is a safe and attractive candidate for prevention of AD as it is a better alternative, compared with many pharmaceuticals. At 4.5 times the RDI (recommended daily intake), it is are well under the tolerable upper limit, making this a safe preventive therapeutic strategy.
The team is planning more clinical trials and also initiating a human study to be able to obtain more results to convince regulatory bodies to adopt Choline supplementation as a new and viable treatment protocol for Alzheimer.
Reference:
Ramon Velazquez et al, Lifelong choline supplementation ameliorates Alzheimer's disease pathology and associated cognitive deficits by attenuating microglia activation, Aging Cell (2019). DOI: 10.1111/acel.13037
For Additional reading about Choline, look at:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/plant-based-diets-can-lead-to-serious-brain-health
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/new-research-shows-that-choline-helps-brain-health-and-reduces-dementia-risks
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/anticholinergic-drugs-increase-the-risk-of-dementia-
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/study-shows-that-choline-may--help-fight-alzheimer
