Study finds link between increased brain glucose levels and Alzheimer’s

A new study published yesterday in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: the Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, found a link for the first time between abnormalities in the mechanism of glucose breakdown in the brain and the severity of tangles and amyloid plaques in the brain, as well as the commencement of visible symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

Credit: Juan Gaertner / Shutterstock.com
This National Institute on Aging-supported study analyzed the brain tissue samples at autopsy from participants involved in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). BLSA, which is one of the world’s longest-running scientific studies on human aging, records neurological, psychological as well as physical data of participants over many decades.
In the study, glucose levels in various areas of the brain, such as the temporal and frontal cortex that are prone to Alzheimer’s disease pathology as well as some resistant areas like the cerebellum, were evaluated.
The researchers investigated three different categories of BLSA participants during the study — (a) participants with Alzheimer’s symptoms throughout life and with confirmed pathology of Alzheimer’s disease, including neurofibrillary tangles and beta-amyloid protein plaques in the brain at the time of death; (b) those who lacked symptoms throughout life, yet had notable levels of Alzheimer’s pathology identified during the brain post-mortem; and (c) healthy controls.
The findings indicated discrete abnormalities in glycolysis, which is the major process involved in the breaking down of glucose in the brain, and provided evidence associating the severity of the abnormalities with the severity of the disease pathology.
Poorer glycolysis rates and increased levels of brain glucose were linked with more severe tangles and plaques in the brains of people affected with Alzheimer’s. Also, the more serious declines in brain glycolysis were associated with the manifestation of disease symptoms like memory issues during life.
Richard J. Hodes, M.D, the NIA Director, commented that this kind of research initiates novel ideas on how to investigate the connections between glycolysis, symptoms, and the disease pathology in escalating the search for better and more effective treatment and prevention methods for Alzheimer’s disease.
Even though the likenesses between Alzheimer’s and diabetes had been suspected for a long time, an evaluation of the link has remained difficult, as insulin is not required for the entry of glucose to the brain or to the neurons.
Glucose used by the brain was tracked by calculating ratios of the amino acids serine, alanine and glycine to glucose, which allowed the assessment of rates of the vital steps involved in glycolysis.
The researchers identified that in comparison with samples of normal brain tissue, the enzyme activities that controlled those vital glycolysis steps were lesser in Alzheimer’s cases.
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Heart surgery survival chances ‘better in the afternoon’

Open heart surgery appears to be safer in the afternoon because of the body’s internal clock, scientists have said.

The body clock – or circadian rhythm – is the reason we want to sleep at night, but it also drives huge changes in the way our bodies work.
The research, published in the Lancet, suggests the heart is stronger and better able to withstand surgery in the afternoon than the morning.
And it says the difference is not down to surgeons being tired in the morning.
Doctors need to stop the heart to perform operations including heart valve replacements. This puts the organ under stress as the flow of oxygen to the heart tissue is reduced.
The doctors and researchers looked for complications including heart attacks, heart failure or death after surgery. They found:

• 54 out of 298 morning patients had adverse events
• 28 out of 298 afternoon patients had adverse events
• Afternoon patients had around half the risk of complications
• One major event would be avoided for every 11 patients operated on in the afternoon

One of those involved in the research, Prof Bart Staels, from the Institut Pasteur de Lille, told the BBC News website: “We don’t want to frighten people from having surgery – it’s life saving.”
He also said it would be impossible for hospitals to conduct surgery only after lunch.
But Prof Staels added: “If we can identify patients at highest risk, they will definitely benefit from being pushed into the afternoon and that would be reasonable.”
Obesity and type 2 diabetes have been shown to increase the risk of complications after surgery.
Heart health is already known to fluctuate over the course of a day.
The risk of a heart attack or stroke is highest first thing in the morning, while the heart and lungs work at their peak in the afternoon.

 

Dr John O’Neill, from the UK Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology, said: “Scientifically it is not hugely surprising, because just like every other cell in the body, heart cells have circadian rhythms that orchestrate their activity.
“Our cardiovascular system has the greatest output around mid/late-afternoon, which explains why professional athletes usually record their best performances around this time.”

• BBC Body Clock: What makes you tick?
• Body clock scientists win Nobel Prize
• Weekend camping resets body clock

Other possible explanations for the findings included surgeons being tired in the morning or their own body clock affecting their surgical skill, particularly if they are not “morning people”.
Read More: http://snip.ly/lr9h9#http://www.bbc.com/news/health-41763958

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