Alzheimer's disease accelerated by abnormal fat in the brain

People with Alzheimer's disease have fat deposits in the brain, a new study published in the Journal Cell has revealed.

Researchers have suggested that this breakthrough could open up a new avenue in the search for a medication to cure or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Karl Fernandes, researcher at the Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM), said: “We found fatty acid deposits in the brain of patients who died from the disease and in mice that were genetically modified to develop Alzheimer's disease. Our experiments suggest that these abnormal fat deposits could be a trigger for the disease.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that over 47.5 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's disease or a type of dementia, yet despite decades of research the only medications currently available treat the symptoms alone.

Researchers initially tried to understand why the brain's stem cells, which normally help repair brain damage, are unresponsive in Alzheimer's disease.

The study found that mice with fat droplets near the stem cells, on the inner surface of the brain were predisposed to develop the disease.

Furthermore, the brains of nine patients who died from Alzheimer's disease were also examined and researchers found significantly more fat droplets compared with five healthy brains.

Commenting on the findings, Mr Fernandes said: “We discovered that these fatty acids are produced by the brain, that they build up slowly with normal aging, but that the process is accelerated significantly in the presence of genes that predispose to Alzheimer's disease.”

“In mice predisposed to the disease, we showed that these fatty acids accumulate very early on, at two months of age, which corresponds to the early twenties in humans. Therefore, we think that the build-up of fatty acids is not a consequence but rather a cause or accelerator of the disease.

Mr Fernandes added: “There are pharmacological inhibitors of the enzyme that produces these fatty acids. These molecules, which are currently being tested for metabolic diseases such as obesity, could be effective in treating Alzheimer's disease.

“We succeeded in preventing these fatty acids from building up in the brains of mice predisposed to the disease. The impact of this treatment on all the aspects of the disease is not yet known, but it significantly increased stem cell activity. This is very promising because stem cells play an important role in learning, memory and regeneration."

Researchers are continuing experiments to verify whether this new approach can prevent or delay the problems with memory, learning and depression associated with the disease.