produce aisle may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Learn more. – Search (bing.com)
COPPER MAY PLAY A ROLE IN ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
COVID, Cognition, New Book by
Dale Bredesen, MD
The scientific community is divided on the question of whether copper — found in red meat, vegetables, dairy products as well as pipes that carry drinking water in much of the developed world — causes or prevents Alzheimer’s disease. For the latest study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers looked at how copper in the capillaries may cause a breakdown in the blood-brain barrier, leading to a buildup of the protein amyloid beta, or plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
According to lead author Rashid Deane, a research professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center, experiments using mice and human cells showed that low levels of copper delivered via drinking water accumulated in the capillary walls that feed blood to the brain. “These are very low levels of copper, equivalent to what people would consume in a normal diet,” said Deane.
The copper caused oxidation which interfered with another protein, called lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1), that would normally clear amyloid beta from the brain, his study said. Not only did copper appear to prevent the clearance of plaque that is believed to be a prime culprit in Alzheimer’s, it also stimulated neurons to produce more amyloid beta.
Researchers described their findings in a press release as a “one-two punch” that “provides strong evidence that copper is a key player in Alzheimer’s disease.” “Copper is an essential metal and it is clear that these effects are due to exposure over a long period of time,” said Deane in a statement. “The key will be striking the right balance between too little and too much copper consumption. Right now we cannot say what the right level will be, but diet may ultimately play an important role in regulating this process.”
However, other experts who have studied copper and Alzheimer’s questioned the paper’s findings. “Research including our own shows the opposite, that copper prevents amyloid from forming the type of structures seen in the plaques,” said Christopher Exley, professor in Bioinorganic Chemistry at Keele University in Staffordshire. Exley and colleagues recently published their latest paper on the topic in the British journal Nature in February.
“As a group we would be thinking, based on everything that we know — and our research has been done with human brains and brain tissues — that if anything, copper would be protective against Alzheimer’s.” Exley said a “number of things” in the PNAS paper raised red flags, such as the way they measured the copper amounts and the fact that they used animal models which do not always translate directly to humans.
“You do need a significant amount of tissue to produce results that you have a high level of confidence in. A mouse capillary — these are very, very, very small things,” Exley told AFP. “The amount of copper which they are talking about as being possibly proactive is normal,” he added. “If you took this paper at absolute face value, it is telling everybody that we are all suffering from the effects that this paper is documenting right now because we are all exposed to this amount of copper.”
Professor George Brewer – How to Avoid Alzheimer’s Disease • scientia.global
Another outside researcher, George Brewer, emeritus professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan medical school, said the “authors miss an important point about copper toxicity to the brain.” “They don’t differentiate copper delivered in drinking water, as they delivered it in their study, from copper in food,” Brewer said in an email to AFP. “We have always had copper in food, so it couldn’t possibly be the cause of this new AD epidemic,” he said. “If they had added this trace amount of copper to food, rather than putting it in drinking water, it would have had no effect.”
Do metals in our environment play a role in Alzheimer’s disease?
A new study found that copper, found in drinking water carried by copper pipes and in foods like red meats, shellfish, nuts and many fruits and vegetables, may play a role in promoting the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s. The findings are the latest to explore the possible role between metals like copper, iron and zinc and Alzheimer’s disease. But the relationship between metals and brain health is complex.
Copper, like many metals, plays a critical role in health.
Along with iron, copper helps transport oxygen through the body. Copper also plays an important role in the communication between nerve cells, bone growth and hormone secretion, so it is important to get enough of the metal in your diet. But the new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), found that copper also may prevent the clearance of beta-amyloid, a protein that builds up in the brains of those with Alzheimer’s.
“It is clear that, over time, copper’s cumulative effect is to impair the systems by which beta-amyloid is removed from the brain,” said the study’s lead author, Professor Rashid Deane, Cooper impaired brain a research professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center Department of Neurosurgery. “This impairment is one of the key factors that cause the protein to accumulate in the brain and form the plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.”
This is an interesting and potentially important study. However, it is unclear as to whether dietary copper — too much or too little — affects Alzheimer’s risk in humans and whether manipulation of dietary copper could prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Over a three-month period, the researchers fed mice “very low levels of copper, equivalent to what people would consume in a normal diet,” said Dr. Deane. They found that the copper made its way into the blood system and accumulated in the vessels that feed blood to the brain. There, the copper interferes with the enzyme that normally breaks down beta-amyloid in the brain. They also observed that in both mouse and human brain cells, copper stimulated activity in brain cells that increased the production of beta-amyloid, and promoted inflammation, which has also been linked to Alzheimer’s.
Because metals like copper are essential to so many other functions in the body, however, the researchers advise that these results must be interpreted with caution and that people must be careful not to eliminate copper from the diet.
Dale Bredesen, MD Diet – Bing video
“Copper is an essential metal, and it is clear that these effects are due to exposure over a long period of time,” said Dr. Deane. “The key will be striking the right balance between too little and too much copper consumption. Right now we cannot say what the right level will be, but diet may ultimately play an important role in regulating this process.” This is an interesting speculation, but it remains unclear as to whether “balancing” dietary copper consumption will be important in preventing dementia.
Indeed, earlier studies have found that too little copper may be harmful to the brain.
Research conducted at Keele University in the U.K. has found that copper, at healthy levels, may prevent beta-amyloid from forming senile plaques in the brain.
Early career researcher in Keele backed to investigate how metals in the brain are linked to Alzheimer’s disease – Alzheimer’s Research UK (alzheimer’s research uk.org)
Other researchers have reported that a deficiency of zinc, a metal that helps make DNA and plays a role in short-term memory and learning, may likewise lead to cognitive problems. People with Alzheimer’s disease often have lower zinc levels than their peers, and some small studies have found that zinc supplements may improve brain function. Zinc is also thought to help keep copper levels at a healthy level. Similarly, some research has found that an excess of iron can be toxic to the brain. But too little iron can lead to anemia, which has been tied to an increased risk of dementia.
Since then, studies have failed to confirm any role for aluminum in causing Alzheimer’s, and most experts now believe that aluminum does not play a role in the disease.
More research is needed to explore the potential connections between metals and brain health. At this point, experts cannot deliver specific recommendations regarding measures to avoid getting too much – or too little – of metals in our diets in order to avoid Alzheimer’s disease. During the 1960s and 1970s, for example, aluminum emerged as a possible suspect in Alzheimer’s disease. Many cautioned about exposure to aluminum through pots and pans, foil wrap and antiperspirants.
By ALZinfo.org, The Alzheimer’s Information Site. Reviewed by William J. Netzer, Ph.D., Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at The Rockefeller University.
Alzheimer’s Disease Risk ‘Linked To Copper-Rich Diet’, But Little Can Be Done About It
PA/The Huffington Post UK
20/08/2013 06:42am BST
Summation:
Copper could be a major environmental culprit in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests. Scientists found strong evidence that copper helps to promote the changes in the brain underlying Alzheimer’s. But they say there is little that can be done about it because copper is so abundant in the diet and also vital to health.
Copper exposure could speed up the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The metal, found in food and drinking water, plays important roles in nerve function, bone growth, the formation of connective tissue, and hormone secretion. Researchers in the US conducted a series of experiments on mice given trace amounts of copper in their drinking water.
In human terms the doses were equivalent to the amount of copper people consume in a normal diet, and about a tenth of what is allowed under US water quality standards. The study showed that copper accumulating in the brain disrupted the natural removal of toxic amyloid beta protein, which is strongly implicated in Alzheimer’s.
Copper also directly stimulated neurons that increased the production of amyloid beta, and caused the proteins to clog together in lumps that could not be cleared. Mice with Alzheimer’s disease had “leaky” brains that allowed the metal to enter them more freely. The findings, reported in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggested a “one-two punch” both creating more amyloid beta and preventing its removal, said the scientists.
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“It is clear that, over time, copper’s cumulative effect is to impair the systems by which amyloid beta is removed from the brain,” said study leader Professor Rashid Deane, Cooper impaired brain from the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York.
“This impairment is one of the key factors that cause the protein to accumulate in the brain and form the plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.” Since copper was so essential to the body, the findings had to be treated with caution, he added. “Copper is an essential metal and it is clear that these effects are due to exposure over a long period of time,” said Prof Deane. “The key will be striking the right balance between too little and too much copper consumption. “Right now, we cannot say what the right level will be, but diet may ultimately play an important role in regulating this process.”
Step 1 How to Talk About Memory Loss – Search (bing.com)
Previous studies also suggested a link between aluminium and Alzheimer’s, but the results have been inconclusive.
Dr Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “It’s well known that clusters of amyloid betas are a major indicator of Alzheimer’s disease however we don’t know why they accumulate in this way.
“This study has found interesting new routes by which they may build up, however this is early research and it’s not yet clear how this might affect the disease process in people. Considering copper is a vital mineral for the body, people should treat these results with caution and not cut it out of their diet.
“More research is needed to understand the role that copper might play in the brain.”
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting about 62% of the UK’s 800,000 sufferers.
The number of people with dementia in the UK is expected to top one million by 2021.
Dr Eric Karran, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, said the charity was currently funding a new study tracking copper in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
He said: “We still need to understand more about how amyloid contributes to brain health both in Alzheimer’s and in normal aging. While the findings present clues to how copper could contribute to features of Alzheimer’s in mice, the results will need replicating in further studies. It is too early to know how normal exposure to copper could be influencing the development or progression of Alzheimer’s in people.
“It is important to remember that copper is a vital part of our diet and plays a role in many essential biological processes in the body. It will be necessary to look in more detail at how copper intake throughout life could influence brain function as we age and during Alzheimer’s, but this requires further investment in research.”
Neuroinflammation and Copper in Alzheimer’s Disease
Xin Yi Choo, Lobna Alukaidey, +1 author A. Grubman
Published 28 November 2013
Biology International Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease
Inflammation is the innate immune response to infection or tissue damage. Initiation of proinflammatory cascades in the central nervous system (CNS) occurs through recognition of danger associated with molecular patterns by cognate immune receptors expressed on inflammatory cells and leads to rapid responses to remove the danger stimulus. The presence of activated microglia and astrocytes in the vicinity of amyloid plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and mouse models implicates inflammation as a contributor to AD pathogenesis.
Activated microglia play a critical role in amyloid clearance, but chronic deregulation of CNS inflammatory pathways results in secretion of neurotoxic mediators that ultimately contribute to neurodegeneration in AD. Copper (Cu) homeostasis is profoundly affected in AD, and accumulated extracellular Cu drives Aβ aggregation, while intracellular Cu deficiency limits bioavailable Cu required for CNS functions. This review presents an overview of inflammatory events that occur in AD in response to Aβ and highlights recent advances on the role of Cu in modulation of beneficial and detrimental inflammatory responses in AD.
Frontiers | Role of Copper in the Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease Compared to Other Metals (frontiersin.org)
Zinc deficiency and high copper-to-zinc ratios link to Alzheimer’s disease | Dale Bredesen – Bing video
Symptoms of Zinc Deficiency – Bing video
Staying active, riding an exercise bike, Shopping cart therapy, Listening to Music, Socializing with Others Your Own Age,
Not Worrying or Stressing About Losing Your Memory Are
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
July 2013, vol. 110 no. 36 pp. 14771–14776
If I could come up with 3 simple tips to help you improve your health, it would be these 3: by fitfuelnutritionllc
1. Consume ONE WORD foods and drinks. My dinner here is mahi mahi, zucchini, and squash. There really isn’t an ingredient label for this. When I say ONE-word foods, I don’t mean bread, soda, or cereal. If you look at the label of foods like this, there are many ingredients that you probably don’t recognize and can’t pronounce. Ingredients you don’t recognize are most likely going to create inflammation and chronic pain/disease in your body. Look for foods that don’t have a label. To piggyback on that, “season, don’t sauce!” 😉
2. Move. Make time for yourself to fit in some sort of activity each day. Stop making excuses and swap your 10-minute Instagram or chit chat break at work with a walk outside or a series of air squats, push-ups, and plank holds at your desk. You don’t even need a gym membership or a full hour. Do this 3x day and now you’ve completed a 30-minute workout!
3. Sleep. Without adequate sleep, your body can’t recover efficiently, and you’ll never get the results you want. Try backing up your bedtime by 20 minutes this week.
Prioritizing time to meal prep, exercise, and sleep is not selfish…it’s self-care!
Hope you all have a fantastic Friday!
*If you’d like more tips and guidance like this, join us for the start of the next Nutrition Coaching group next week! DM the word NUTRITION for more information. Ashley Downes, IFBB Pro (@fitfuelnutritionllc) • Instagram photos and videos | Meet Ashley | fitfuelnutritionllc
#fitfuel #3tipsforwellness #fitness #nutrition #onewordfoods
#seasondontsauce #wellness #sleep #move #foodforfuel
I Just love it when seasons converge forces!
One question…Are they selling hot chocolate in that barn?
Wow! Where is that street located?
729 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02108
It’s a beautiful part of the city…
What season do you love most?
Why does it have to be one or the other?
September to December is my favorite.
I Love FALL Most of All
The Sweater Weather, Autumn colors & Christmas lights.
Taylor Swift
Back to December – YouTubeBeautiful! Beautiful! Did I say Beautiful?!?!
Fall/Halloween or Christmas/Winter?
Hands down, CHRISTMAS/WINTER!!
