Alzheimer's and visceral fat

[corybroo]

I saw these two articles yesterday.  I apologize if they’ve already been posted.  They both suggest benefits of a CR lifestyle for healthspan.

 

Belly fat linked to signs of Alzheimer’s 20 years before symptoms begin

As the size of a person’s belly grows, the memory center of their brain shrinks and beta amyloid and tau may appear — all of this occurring as early as a person’s 40s and 50s, well before any cognitive decline is apparent, according to new research.

Since the study found these relationships decades before cognitive decline and an expected diagnosis, having laser sharp focus on reducing belly fat can be one of our most powerful tools to fight this terrible disease

A pilot study by Raji and his team, released in November 2023, found a type of deep abdominal fat called visceral fat, was linked to inflammation and amyloid buildup in the brains of 32 men and women in their 40s and 50s. 

That study also found a relationship between deep belly fat and brain atrophy, or a wasting away of gray matter, in a part of the brain’s memory center called the hippocampus, Raji said. 

What is new is that we demonstrate for the first time that higher amounts of visceral or hidden fat is related to abnormally high tau proteins in persons up to 20 years before they could develop the earliest symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease

 

Ketone Bodies Clear Damaged Proteins in the Brain

Ketone bodies, known for their role in energy metabolism during fasting, have been shown to directly interact with damaged proteins in the brain, aiding their clearance through autophagy. Researchers discovered that the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate alters the solubility of misfolded proteins, facilitating their removal and reducing pathological aggregation.

Tests in mouse models of Alzheimer’s and aging confirmed these effects, with treated animals showing improvements in protein quality control and brain health.