Research in mice suggests that a multi-ingredient nutritional supplement might be able to delay nerve cell degeneration and prevent Alzheimer disease.
Special Mice in the Study:
The scientists at McMaster University used transgenic growth hormone mice. They are specially bred to age rapidly, with visible deterioration in brain function within months.
Such mice lose about half of their brain cells by the time they are a year old, making them a possible model for studying how to prevent Alzheimer disease. But providing them with a supplement containing cod liver oil, certain herbal extracts and some specific vitamins (B, C, D) forestalled brain cell loss and allowed them to maintain their balance and ability to learn mazes.
Will Such a Supplement Help Prevent Alzheimer Disease in Humans?
It will be interesting to see if this can be adapted for use in humans with degenerative brain disorders such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, AKA Lou Gehrig’s disease), Alzheimer disease or Parkinson disease.
Some research has already been done in humans suggesting that a similar multi-factorial approach may be useful to prevent Alzheimer disease. You can learn more about it by listening to our hour-long interview with Dr. Dale Bredesen.
Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, online, May 20, 2016
