Walnuts help prevent Alzheimer disease

The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Having a walnut-enriched diet every day may help reduce the risk, delay the onset, slow the progression of, or prevent Alzheimer's disease all together, found a study led by an Indian-origin researcher.

"study adds to the growing body of research that demonstrates the protective effects of walnuts on cognitive functioning," said Abha Chauhan from the New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR).

The research group examined the effects of dietary supplementation on mice with six percent and nine percent walnuts, that is equivalent to one ounce (28.3 gram) and 1.5 ounces (42.5 gram) per day, respectively.

The researchers found significant improvement in learning skills, memory, reducing anxiety and motor development in mice fed a walnut-enriched diet.

Oxidative stress and inflammation are prominent features in the disease.

The high antioxidant content of walnuts (3.7 mmol/ounce) may have been a contributing factor in protecting the mouse's brain from the degeneration typically seen in Alzheimer's disease, the researchers suggested.

This research stemmed from a previous cell culture study led by Chauhan that highlighted the protective effects of walnut extract against the oxidative damage caused by amyloid beta protein.

"These findings are very promising and could help lay the groundwork for future human studies on walnuts and Alzheimer's disease - a disease for which there is no known cure," Chauhan added.

The protein is the major component of amyloid plaques that form in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease.

Kids living in megacities likelier to risk brain damage from air pollution

A new study has recently revealed that kids living in megacities are more prone to brain damage from air pollution.

Researchers from University of Montana revealed that children living in megacities are at increased risk for brain inflammation and neurodegenerative changes, including Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

The study found when air particulate matter and their components such as metals are inhaled or swallowed, they pass through damaged barriers, including respiratory, gastrointestinal and the blood-brain barriers and can result in long-lasting harmful effects.

Researchers compared 58 serum and cerebrospinal fluid samples from a control group living in a low-pollution city and matched them by age, gender, socioeconomic status, education and education levels achieved by their parents to 81 children living in Mexico City.

The results found that the children living in Mexico City had significantly higher serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels of autoantibodies against key tight-junction and neural proteins, as well as combustion-related metals.

The breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and the presence of autoantibodies to important brain proteins would contribute to the neuroinflammation observed in urban children and raises the question of what role air pollution plays in a 400 percent increase of MS cases in Mexico City, making it one of the main diagnoses for neurology referrals.

Once there's a breakdown in the blood-brain barrier, not only would particulate matter enter the body but it also opens the door to harmful neurotoxins, bacteria and viruses.

While the study focused on children living in Mexico City, others living in cities where there are alarming levels of air pollution such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia-Wilmington, New York City, Salt Lake City, hicago, Tokyo, Mumbai, New Delhi or Shanghai, among others, also face major health risks. In the U.S. alone, 200 million people live in areas where pollutants such as ozone and fine particulate matter exceed the standards. (ANI)