Neuroscientists at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, collaborating with scholars from the National Institutes of Health, discovered that individuals with higher levels of abdominal fat face a 3.5 times greater risk of memory loss and developing Alzheimer's disease in later life.These individuals possess lower levels of a protein that regulates liver fat metabolism. Known as the alpha-peroxidase-activated receptor, this protein not only controls fat metabolism in the liver but is also present in the brain's memory center (the hippocampus), where it governs memory and learning abilities.
When individuals become overweight, they initially deplete this protein only in the liver, but eventually deplete it throughout the entire body, including the brain. This new research finding holds promise for developing an injectable therapy that could improve learning abilities and address memory loss in Alzheimer's patients.
When mice lacking α-peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARα) exhibited impaired learning and memory, injecting this protein into their hippocampi improved these functions. Published in Cell Reports, the study suggests future research could focus on maintaining normal PPARα levels in the brain to combat memory loss and Alzheimer's disease.