Consuming western diets may spike risk of Alzheimer's in people with associated gene

(Image for representational purposes only)

New Delhi: Although there are various kinds of diets that one can follow to help them along their weight loss journey, there are many who fall into the trap of those diets that do nothing for them.

In order to see visible differences, diets that suit your body structure and type are the ones that should be followed and not those based on hear-say.

This is why a study has stated that following western diets that are mostly high in cholesterol, fat and sugar are not all they are said to be and may influence the onset of Alzheimer's disease in people who carry a gene linked to the neurodegenerative disease.

ApoE4 and ApoE3 are two variants of a gene that codes for a protein, apolipoprotein E, which binds fats and cholesterol.

While ApoE4 variant is linked to increased inflammation, Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease, ApoE3, does not increase the risk for the disease, and is much more common variant.

However, not all carriers of APOE4 gene develop the disease, the researchers said.

The findings revealed that when APOE4-carrying mice were fed a Western-like diet high for 12 weeks, they showed increased deposits of beta-amyloid protein plaques – a marker for inflammation – in their brains.

They also exhibited a greater number of glial cells – the brain cells responsible for immunity response.

"Part of what the results are saying is that risk doesn't affect everybody the same, and that's true for most risk factors," said lead author Christian Pike, Professor at the University of Southern California – Davis.

"Your genes have a big role in what happens to you, but so does your environment and your modifiable lifestyle factors. How much you exercise becomes important and what you eat becomes important," Pike added.

For the study, the team placed a group of mice with ApoE4 on a control diet that was 10 percent fat and seven per cent sucrose, while another group of mice with ApoE4 ate a Western diet that was of 45 percent fat and 17 percent sucrose for 12 weeks. A similar test was run on mice with ApoE3.

On the unhealthy diet, both the mice with ApoE4 and those with ApoE3 gained weight and became pre-diabetic. But most significantly, those with ApoE4 on the unhealthy diet quickly developed the signature plaques that obstruct cognition and memory.

Lifestyle changes could play a major role in reducing the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's disease in individuals with this genetic predisposition, the researchers suggested.

(With IANS inputs)