[Editors] MIT study points to cocktail therapy for Alzheimer’s

[Teresa Herbert]

For Immediate Release
TUESDAY, JUL. 8, 2008

Contact: Teresa Herbert, MIT News Office
T. 617-258-5403   E.: therbert at mit.edu

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Study points to cocktail therapy for Alzheimer’s
--Beverage supplement improves memory, learning in gerbils
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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A dietary cocktail that includes a type of omega-3  
fatty acid can improve memory and learning in gerbils, according to  
the latest study from MIT researchers that points to a possible  
beverage-based treatment for Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases.

The combination of supplements, which contains three compounds  
normally found in the bloodstream, is now being tested in Alzheimer’s  
patients. The cocktail has previously been shown to promote growth of  
new brain connections in rodents.

“It may be possible to use this treatment to partially restore brain  
function in people with diseases that decrease the number of brain  
neurons, including, for example, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s,  
strokes and brain injuries. Of course, such speculations have to be  
tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials,” said  
Richard Wurtman, Cecil H. Green Distinguished Professor of  
Neuropharmacology and senior author of a paper on the new work.

Such trials are now underway in Europe. A paper describing preliminary  
results has been submitted to the Alzheimer’s Association  
International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, to be held in Chicago  
July 26-31.

The new findings in gerbils appeared in the July 7 online edition of  
the Journal of FASEB (Federation of American Societies of Experimental  
Biology).

The researchers found that normal gerbils treated with the mixture—a  
combination of DHA (a type of omega-3 fatty acid), uridine and choline— 
performed significantly better on learning and memory tests than  
untreated gerbils.

Wurtman developed the treatment as a new approach to tackling  
Alzheimer’s—restoring the synapses, or connections between brain  
cells, that leads to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients.

Synapses, where information is passed between neurons, play a critical  
role in learning and memory. Wurtman’s laboratory has previously shown  
that the cocktail treatment improves those functions in rats with  
cognitive impairments.

The three dietary supplements under investigation are precursors to  
the fatty molecules that make up cell membranes, including the  
membranes of brain cells, which form synapses.

In the FASEB study, Wurtman and his colleagues found that gerbils that  
received all three supplements had up to 70 percent more phosphatides  
(a type of molecule that forms cell membranes) than control mice,  
suggesting that new synapses are forming.

“The improvements in cognition observed in normal gerbils in this  
study and in rats with impaired cognition, in a previous study,  
correlate perfectly with the evidence of increased brain synapses, as  
shown biochemically and anatomically,” said Wurtman. “This suggests  
that treating the animals with the experimental mixture affects  
behavior by increasing the number of synapses in important brain  
regions.

Some of the gerbils in the studies received all three compounds and  
some received only two. The improvements in apparent synapse growth  
and cognitive ability were greatest in the rats given all three.

Omega-3 fatty acids are not produced in the body but are found in a  
variety of sources, including fish, eggs, flaxseed and meat from grass- 
fed animals. Choline can be synthesized in the body and obtained  
through the diet; it is found in meats, nuts and eggs. Uridine cannot  
be obtained from food sources, but is a component of human breast milk  
and can be produced in the body.

Lead author of the FASEB paper is Sarah Holguin, a recent MIT PhD  
recipient. Other authors are MIT undergraduates Joseph Martinez and  
Camille Chow.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the  
CBSMCT.

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