15 November, 2008

More on Alzheimer's and Ketogenic Therapy

This is a great post over at Free The Animal It is worth reading and leaving a comment. Don't forget to mention who sent you.


It was last April when I pointed to a study suggesting that Alzheimer's might be linked to the whole sugar-insulin deal. That is: refined carbs and sugar, again.

I pointed to this post at The IF Life in last weekend's roundup, but here it is again for reference. This adds an interesting twist, in identifying an inflammatory omega-6 fat, arachidonic acid, as a potential culprit. And all this leads to speculation and hypotheses, now, that Alzheimer's is actually a kind of third type of diabetes.

Now scientists at Northwestern University have discovered why brain insulin signaling -- crucial for memory formation -- would stop working in Alzheimer's disease. They have shown that a toxic protein found in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's removes insulin receptors from nerve cells, rendering those neurons insulin resistant. (The protein, known to attack memory-forming synapses, is called an ADDL for "amyloid ß-derived diffusible ligand.")

With other research showing that levels of brain insulin and its related receptors are lower in individuals with Alzheimer's disease, the Northwestern study sheds light on the emerging idea of Alzheimer's being a "type 3" diabetes. To Read more click here.

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