We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us
INTEGRA BIOSCIENCES AG

Download Mobile App




Mapping Tool Reveals Cocoa May Reverse Age-Related Memory Decline

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 05 Nov 2014
Print article
Image: This fMRI scan shows the brain area outlined in yellow is the hippocampus; the dentate gyrus is shown in green and the entorhinal cortex in purple. Previous work, including by the laboratory of senior author Scott A. Small, M.D., had shown that changes in a specific part of the brain’s hippocampus--the dentate gyrus--are associated with normal age-related memory decline in humans and other mammals. The dentate gyrus is distinct from the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampal region affected in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (Photo courtesy of the Laboratory of Scott A. Small, MD).
Image: This fMRI scan shows the brain area outlined in yellow is the hippocampus; the dentate gyrus is shown in green and the entorhinal cortex in purple. Previous work, including by the laboratory of senior author Scott A. Small, M.D., had shown that changes in a specific part of the brain’s hippocampus--the dentate gyrus--are associated with normal age-related memory decline in humans and other mammals. The dentate gyrus is distinct from the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampal region affected in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease (Photo courtesy of the Laboratory of Scott A. Small, MD).
Image: The dentate gyrus is distinct from the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampal region affected in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Previous work, including by the laboratory of senior author Scott A. Small, MD, had shown that changes in a specific part of the brain’s hippocampus—the dentate gyrus—are associated with normal age-related memory decline in humans and other mammals (Photo courtesy of Columbia University Medical Center).
Image: The dentate gyrus is distinct from the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampal region affected in early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Previous work, including by the laboratory of senior author Scott A. Small, MD, had shown that changes in a specific part of the brain’s hippocampus—the dentate gyrus—are associated with normal age-related memory decline in humans and other mammals (Photo courtesy of Columbia University Medical Center).
Dietary cocoa flavanols, naturally occurring bioactives found in cocoa, has been shown to reverse age-related memory decline in healthy older adults, according to new findings. Flavanols are also found naturally in tea leaves and in specific fruits and vegetables.

The research was led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC; New York, NY, USA) scientists, and their findings were published October 26, 2014, in the advance online issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience. The study provides the first direct evidence that one component of age-related memory decline in humans is caused by changes in a specific region of the brain and that this form of memory decline can be improved by a dietary intervention.

As individuals get older, they typically show some decline in cognitive abilities, including learning and remembering such things as the names of new acquaintances or where one placed one’s wallet. This normal age-related memory decline begins in early adulthood but typically does not have any noticeable impact on quality of life until people reach their fifties or sixties. Age-related memory decline is different from the frequently-debilitating memory impairment that occurs with Alzheimer’s, in which a disease process damages and destroys neurons in various parts of the brain, including the memory circuits.

Earlier research, including by the laboratory of senior author Scott A. Small, MD, had shown that changes in a specific region of the brain—the dentate gyrus—are associated with age-related memory decline. Up to now, however, the evidence in humans showed only a correlational association, not a causal one. To see if the dentate gyrus is the source of age-related memory decline in humans, Dr. Small and his colleagues assessed whether compounds called cocoa flavanols can enhance the function of this brain region and improve memory. Flavanols extracted from cocoa beans had earlier been found to improve neuronal connections in the dentate gyrus of mice. Dr. Small is a professor of neurology in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, the Sergievsky Center, and the departments of radiology and psychiatry, and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center in the Taub Institute at CUMC.

A cocoa flavanol-containing test drink prepared specifically for research purposes was produced by the food company Mars, Inc. (McLean, VA, USA), which also partly supported the research, using a proprietary process to extract flavanols from cocoa beans. Most methods of processing cocoa remove many of the flavanols found in the raw plant.

In the CUMC study, 37 healthy volunteers, ages 50 to 69, were randomized to receive either a high-flavanol diet (900 mg of flavanols a day) or a low-flavanol diet (10 mg of flavanols a day) for three months. Brain imaging and memory tests were administered to each participant before and after the study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain imaging scans were used to measure blood volume in the dentate gyrus, a gauge of metabolism, and the memory test involved a 20-minute pattern-recognition exercise designed to evaluate a type of memory controlled by the dentate gyrus.

“When we imaged our research subjects’ brains, we found noticeable improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-cocoa-flavanol drink” said lead author Adam M. Brickman, PhD, associate professor of neuropsychology at the Taub Institute.

The high-flavanol group also performed considerably better on the memory test. “If a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months that person on average had the memory of a typical 30- or 40-year-old,” said Dr. Small. He cautioned, however, that the findings need to be replicated in a larger study, which he and his team plan to do.

Flavanols are also found naturally in tea leaves and in specific fruits and vegetables, but the overall amounts, as well as the specific forms and mixtures, vary widely. The precise formulation used in the CUMC study has also been shown to enhance cardiovascular health. Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA, USA) announced a US National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, MD, USA)-funded study of 18,000 men and women to see whether flavanols can help prevent heart attacks and strokes. The researchers cautioned, however, that the product used in the study is not the same as chocolate, and they warn against an increase in chocolate consumption in an attempt to gain this effect.

Two advanced technologies used by the investigators made the study possible. A high-resolution variant of fMRI scanning was used to map the precise site of age-related DG dysfunction and to develop a cognitive task whose function localized to this anatomic site. The new data-processing tool allows the imaging data to be presented in a single, three-dimensional image instead of in numerous individual slices. The application was developed in Dr. Small’s lab by Usman A. Khan, an MD-PhD student in the lab, and Frank A. Provenzano, a biomedical engineering graduate student at Columbia. The other innovation was a modification to a classic neuropsychologic test, allowing the researchers to evaluate memory function specifically localized to the dentate gyrus. The revised test was developed by Drs. Brickman and Small.

Exercise, in addition to flavanols, has been shown in previous studies, including those of Dr. Small, to improve memory and dentate gyrus function in younger people. In the current study, the researchers were unable to assess whether exercise had an effect on memory or on dentate gyrus activity. “Since we didn’t reach the intended VO2max [maximal oxygen uptake] target, we couldn’t evaluate whether exercise was beneficial in this context. This is not to saythat exercise is not beneficial for cognition. It may be that older people need more intense exercise to reach VO2max levels that have therapeutic effects,” concluded Dr. Small,

Related Links:

Columbia University Medical Center


Platinum Member
COVID-19 Rapid Test
OSOM COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
One Step HbA1c Measuring System
GREENCARE A1c
Anti-Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Test
GPP-100 Anti-CCP Kit
Gold Member
Xylazine Immunoassay Test
Xylazine ELISA

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: Reaching speeds up to 6,000 RPM, this centrifuge forms the basis for a new type of inexpensive, POC biomedical test (Photo courtesy of Duke University)

POC Biomedical Test Spins Water Droplet Using Sound Waves for Cancer Detection

Exosomes, tiny cellular bioparticles carrying a specific set of proteins, lipids, and genetic materials, play a crucial role in cell communication and hold promise for non-invasive diagnostics.... Read more

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The study showed the blood-based cancer screening test detects 83% of people with colorectal cancer with specificity of 90% (Photo courtesy of Guardant Health)

Blood Test Shows 83% Accuracy for Detecting Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is the second biggest cause of cancer deaths among adults in the U.S., with forecasts suggesting 53,010 people might die from it in 2024. While fewer older adults are dying from this... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: The Gazelle Hb Variant Test (Photo courtesy of Hemex Health)

First Affordable and Rapid Test for Beta Thalassemia Demonstrates 99% Diagnostic Accuracy

Hemoglobin disorders rank as some of the most prevalent monogenic diseases globally. Among various hemoglobin disorders, beta thalassemia, a hereditary blood disorder, affects about 1.5% of the world's... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: The new platform is designed to perform blood-based diagnoses of nontuberculosis mycobacteria (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

New Blood Test Cuts Diagnosis Time for Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Infections from Months to Hours

Breathing in nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) is a common experience for many people. These bacteria are present in water systems, soil, and dust all over the world and usually don't cause any problems.... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: These new assays are being developed for use on the recently introduced DxI 9000 Immunoassay Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Beckman Coulter)

Beckman Coulter and Fujirebio Expand Partnership on Neurodegenerative Disease Diagnostics

Beckman Coulter Diagnostics (Brea, CA, USA) and Fujirebio Diagnostics (Tokyo, Japan) have expanded their partnership focused on the development, manufacturing and clinical adoption of neurodegenerative... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.