Diet

Could a High Fat Diet Postpone Premature Brain Aging?

A high-fat diet postponed signs of brain aging in mice—a discovery that could help researchers better treat children with premature aging from Cockayne syndrome and adults with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

For the study, researchers at the National Institute of Health and the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen evaluated the effects of exposing a mice model of Cockayne syndrome to a high-fat diet.
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In Cockayne syndrome, cells’ DNA repair systems function at all times, eventually running out of fuel and ceasing to function, leading to premature aging.

The results of the study showed that the high fat diet slowed the progression of premature aging in the mice.  Researchers noted that medium chain fatty acids, like those found in coconut oil, had especially positive effects on the mice’s aging.

This result occurred “because the brain cells are given extra fuel and thus the strength to repair the damage,” they wrote.

"The study is good news for children with Cockayne syndrome, because we do not currently have an effective treatment.” 

The researchers noted that because of the overall effect on brain aging, a high-fat diet may also benefit adults with Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons’ disease, but more research is needed to explore the possibility.   

The complete study is available in the November issue of Cell Metabolism.

-Michelle Canales

References:

1. Scheibye-Knudsen M, Mitchell SJ, Fang EF, et al. A high-fat diet and NAD+ activate sirt1 to rescue premature aging in cockayne syndrome. Cell Metab. 2014 November [epub ahead of print] doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2014.10.005.

2. University of Copenhagen. High-fat diet postponing brain aging. November 5, 2014. http://healthsciences.ku.dk/news/news2014/high-fat-diet-postponing-brain-aging/. Accessed November 10, 2014.