The “miracle” foods that slow Alzheimer’s disease

In natural products, such as pomegranate seed oil, a seaweed formulation, in an egg-based functional drink, but also in diets such as the Mediterranean, ketogenic and the MINDstudies are focused on the prevention of the disease Alzheimer’s (NA), from the early stage of mild mental disorder, as existing drugs do not lead to effective treatment of the disease.

While in 2018, 59 new drugs were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various diseases, the last symptomatic drug for AD, approved in 2003, was memantine, and on January 6, 2023, another drug, lecanemab, was approved by the FDA.

Lecanebab is an intravenous monoclonal antibody, which targets the oligomers and protofibrils of amyloid β’ (a protein, the pathological concentration of which is observed in the brain of patients with AD).

This drug was approved because it met all primary and secondary objectives, but it has serious side effects, such as IV site reactions in 26.4%, cerebral edema in 12.6%, and cerebral hemorrhage in 17%. 3%.

The results of the studies on the benefits of natural products in mild mental disorder are presented at the 13th Panhellenic Congress on Alzheimer’s Disease and 5th Mediterranean Congress on Neurodegenerative Diseases”, which is being held in Thessaloniki.

The benefits of pomegranate seed oil in mild mental disorder

In recent years, experimental epidemiological and clinical studies have focused on the effects of pomegranate oil in the prevention of neurodegeneration of the brain, given that its anti-oxidative and neuroprotective properties have been shown to help in the treatment of neuroinflammations.

Pomegranate seed oil is produced from the seed of the fruit and is rich in polyphenols, phytosterols and vitamin C.

“In the Hellenic Society Alzheimer’s we did a study with pomegranate seed oil, which was sponsored by the producer Stefanos Kassidis from Giannitsa. We administered the pomegranate oil to patients with mild mental disorder, from whom we took blood and performed neuropsychological assessment before and after. The questionnaires they filled out showed that pomegranate oil greatly helps patients with mild mental disorder, that is, those who forget a little, and does not allow it to develop into dementia. This study was carried out in 2022 and we announced its results at two world conferences held in London and San Francisco and now we announce them at the 13th Panhellenic Congress on Alzheimer’s Disease and the 5th Mediterranean Congress on Neurodegenerative Diseases“, the neurologist-psychiatrist and president of the Panhellenic Alzheimer’s Disease Association Magda Tsolaki told APE-MPE.

In the presentation, on the topic “The benefits of pomegranate seed oil in mild mental disorders” (by Thanos Hatzikostopoulos, psychologist and Magda Tsolakis, neurologist-psychiatrist), which takes place in the context of the conference, it is stated that a randomized clinical study was carried out, with the aim of examining the benefits of pomegranate seed oil on the cognition of people with mild mental disorder.

“The experimental group consists of 50 patients with HND, who receive pomegranate seed oil and follow a Mediterranean diet, while the control group consists of patients with HND, who only follow a Mediterranean diet. In order to measure the results, an extensive neuropsychological assessment is performed every six months, as well as blood biomarker testing. The statistically significant differences between the two groups in specific areas of memory, such as working and verbal episodic memory, indicate that pomegranate seed oil may be a useful option for prevention, but also an important part of holistic treatments for dementia.“, it is mentioned – among other things – in the presentation.

Algae for the treatment of mental disorders

In “quiver» for the treatment of mental disorders there is, at the moment, a preparation of seaweed, which contains an amino acid, homotaurine, which prevents the formation of β-amyloid plaques. It is a pill, which has no serious side effects.

“We can use it immediately, for now, in patients with APOE e4 (ie patients with a genetic predisposition), based on a study that was done in the past, so that we can delay the amyloidosis and wait for the study that was funded by fast-track procedures from the FDA so that we can prescribe it, without patient involvement. We currently have results from a small study done by our group that was found to statistically significantly reduce phospo-tau 181 (a biomarker for the diagnosis of AD) in the plasma of patients who took homotaurine.

The above is mentioned in an announcement, entitled “The role of homotaurine/tramiprosate in the treatment of mental disorders» (by Magda Tsolakis, Anna Koutoupas, Thanos Chatzikostopoulos, Anna Anastasiou, Eleni Tzedakis and Anastasia Pantazaki).

Egg based functional drink

A functional egg white drink tested on 20 patients with mild mental disorder and 10 healthy volunteers showed a statistically significant increase in vitamin B12 and folate levels in patients with mild mental disorder in just one month.

Vitamin B12 and folate reduce the concentration of homocysteine, which is an amino acid that in high concentrations is associated with faster atrophy in the brain of AD patients.

People who were given this drink, which is enriched with vitamin B12 and folate, were tested with neuropsychometric tests and their blood levels of folate, vitamin B12 and homocysteine ​​were measured. Measurements were repeated after one month and after one year showed a statistically significant increase in both vitamin B12 and folate.

“The administration of this innovative functional drink appears to significantly increase vitamin B12 and folic acid levels in people with mild mental disorders within just one month. The role of the patients’ mental function remains to be ascertained”, says a statement, on the topic: “The role of an egg-based functional drink on vitamin levels in patients with mild mental disorder” (by Vasiliou Papaliagas, Patroklos Vareltzis, Maria Papadimitriou and Avrakomis Mazaridou).

Diets that slow cognitive decline

Scientific evidence shows that dietary patterns can slow the rate of cognitive decline, suggesting diet as a preventive measure against dementia. From the results of a systematic review in online databases (PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science) until January 31, 2022, it appeared that three dietary interventions with the Mediterranean diet, the ketogenic diet and the MIND diet, slow the rate of cognitive decline.

Only randomized clinical trials, 11 studies of the Mediterranean diet, seven studies of the ketogenic diet and one study of the MIND diet were included in the review.

Participants’ cognitive status was normal in seven studies, 10 studies included patients with mild cognitive impairment, and two studies included patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

“The Mediterranean diet was beneficial for global cognitive function after 10 weeks, the ketogenic diet had beneficial effects in patients with diabetes mellitus, improving verbal recognition, while the MIND diet showed benefits in obese patients, improving working memory, verbal recognition, memory, and attention,” states the review, titled: “Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, or MIND diet for the aging population with cognitive impairment: a systematic review (by Paschalis Devranis, Emilia Vassilopoulou, Vasiliou Tsironis, Panagiotis-Mariou Sotiriadis, MichailChourdakis, Michalis Aivaliotis and Magdas Tsolaki).

RES

Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.