• Home
  • Politics
  • Health
  • World
  • Business
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
What's Hot

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

May 8, 2025

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025

Top 10 Benefits Of Acupuncture

May 8, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
Friday, May 9
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
  • Home
  • Politics

    Security video shows brazen sexual assault of California woman by homeless man

    October 24, 2023

    Woman makes disturbing discovery after her boyfriend chases away home intruder who stabbed him

    October 24, 2023

    Poll finds Americans overwhelmingly support Israel’s war on Hamas, but younger Americans defend Hamas

    October 24, 2023

    Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder after allegedly trying to shut off engines midflight on Alaska Airlines

    October 23, 2023

    Leaked audio of Shelia Jackson Lee abusively cursing staffer

    October 22, 2023
  • Health

    Disparities In Cataract Care Are A Sorry Sight

    October 16, 2023

    Vaccine Stocks—Including Pfizer, Moderna, BioNTech And Novavax—Slide Amid Plummeting Demand

    October 16, 2023

    Long-term steroid use should be a last resort

    October 16, 2023

    Rite Aid Files For Bankruptcy With More ‘Underperforming Stores’ To Close

    October 16, 2023

    Who’s Still Dying From Complications Related To Covid-19?

    October 16, 2023
  • World

    New York Democrat Dan Goldman Accuses ‘Conservatives in the South’ of Holding Rallies with ‘Swastikas’

    October 13, 2023

    IDF Ret. Major General Describes Rushing to Save Son, Granddaughter During Hamas Invasion

    October 13, 2023

    Black Lives Matter Group Deletes Tweet Showing Support for Hamas 

    October 13, 2023

    AOC Denounces NYC Rally Cheering Hamas Terrorism: ‘Unacceptable’

    October 13, 2023

    L.A. Prosecutors Call Out Soros-Backed Gascón for Silence on Israel

    October 13, 2023
  • Business

    Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

    May 8, 2025

    Electric Vehicle Sales Nosedive As GOP Takes Buzzsaw To Biden’s Mandate

    May 7, 2025

    Tyson Foods Announces It Will Bend The Knee To Trump Admin’s New Rules

    May 7, 2025

    Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rates Steady Despite Pressure From Trump

    May 7, 2025

    ‘Wait Them Out’: John Kennedy Tells Larry Kudlow One Lie He Suspects China’s Telling US

    May 7, 2025
  • Finance

    Ending China’s De Minimis Exception Brings 3 Benefits for Americans

    April 17, 2025

    The Trump Tariff Shock Should Push Indonesia to Reform Its Economy

    April 17, 2025

    Tariff Talks an Opportunity to Reinvigorate the Japan-US Alliance

    April 17, 2025

    How China’s Companies Are Responding to the US Trade War

    April 16, 2025

    The US Flip-flop Over H20 Chip Restrictions 

    April 16, 2025
  • Tech

    Cruz Confronts Zuckerberg on Pointless Warning for Child Porn Searches

    February 2, 2024

    FTX Abandons Plans to Relaunch Crypto Exchange, Commits to Full Repayment of Customers and Creditors

    February 2, 2024

    Elon Musk Proposes Tesla Reincorporates in Texas After Delaware Judge Voids Pay Package

    February 2, 2024

    Tesla’s Elon Musk Tops Disney’s Bob Iger as Most Overrated Chief Executive

    February 2, 2024

    Mark Zuckerberg’s Wealth Grew $84 Billion in 2023 as Pedophiles Target Children on Facebook, Instagram

    February 2, 2024
  • More
    • Sports
    • Entertainment
    • Lifestyle
Patriot Now NewsPatriot Now News
Home»Health»Saturated fat may interfere with creating memories in the aged brain
Health

Saturated fat may interfere with creating memories in the aged brain

September 28, 2023No Comments5 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Saturated fat may interfere with creating memories in the aged brain
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email
The study of cell cultures found the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, found in fish and a common supplement, may help protect the brain from an unhealthy diet’s effects by curbing fat-induced inflammation at the cellular source. Credit: Shutterstock

New research hints at a few ways fatty foods affect cells in the brain, a finding that could help explain the link between a high-fat diet and impaired memory—especially as we age.

The Ohio State University study of cell cultures found the omega-3 fatty acid DHA may help protect the brain from an unhealthy diet’s effects by curbing fat-induced inflammation at the cellular source.

Separate experiments using brain tissue from aging mice showed a high-fat diet may lead specific brain cells to overdo cell-signaling management in a way that interferes with the creation of new memories.

The same lab found in an earlier study of aging rats that a diet of highly processed ingredients led to a strong inflammatory response in the brain that was accompanied by behavioral signs of memory loss—and that DHA supplementation prevented those problems.

“The cool thing about this paper is that for the first time, we’re really starting to tease these things apart by cell type,” said senior author Ruth Barrientos, an investigator in Ohio State’s Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral health and neuroscience in the College of Medicine.

“Our lab and others have often looked at the whole tissue of the hippocampus to observe the brain’s memory-related response to a high-fat diet. But we’ve been curious about which cell types are more or less affected by these saturated fatty acids, and this is our first foray into determining that.”

The study was published recently in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience.

For this work, the researchers focused on microglia, cells in the brain that promote inflammation, and hippocampal neurons, which are important for learning and memory. They used immortalized cells—copies of cells taken from animal tissue that are modified to continuously divide and respond only to lab-based stimulation, meaning their behavior may not precisely match that of primary cells of the same type.

See also  Childhood Experiences Alter Brain Development, A Neurologist Explains

Researchers exposed these model microglia and neurons to palmitic acid, the most abundant saturated fatty acid in high-fat foods like lard, shortening, meat and dairy products, to observe how it affected gene activation in the cells as well as functioning of mitochondria, structures inside cells that have a primary metabolic role of generating energy.

Results showed the palmitic acid prompted gene expression changes linked to an increase in inflammation in both microglia and neurons, though microglia had a wider range of affected inflammatory genes. Pre-treatment of these cells with a dose of DHA, one of two omega-3 fatty acids in fish and other seafood and available in supplement form, had a strong protective effect against the increased inflammation in both cell types.

“Previous work has shown that DHA is protective in the brain and that palmitic acid has been detrimental to brain cells, but this is the first time we’ve looked at how DHA can directly protect against the effects of palmitic acid in those microglia, and we see that there is a strong protective effect,” said Michael Butler, first author of the study and a research scientist in Barrientos’ lab.

When it came to the mitochondria, however, DHA did not prevent the loss of function that followed exposure to palmitic acid.

“The protective effects of DHA might, in this context, be restricted to effects on gene expression related to the pro-inflammatory response as opposed to the metabolic deficits that the saturated fat also induced,” Butler said.

In another set of experiments, the researchers looked at how a diet high in saturated fat influenced signaling in the brains of aged mice by observing another microglial function called synaptic pruning. Microglia monitor signal transmission among neurons and nibble away excess synaptic spines, the connection sites between axons and dendrites, to keep communication at an ideal level.

See also  Jessica Simpson Denies Rumors That Ozempic Was Responsible For Her Weight Loss

Microglia were exposed to mouse brain tissue containing both pre- and post-synaptic material from animals that had been fed either a high-fat diet or regular chow for three days.

The microglia ate the synapses from aged mice fed a high-fat diet at a faster rate than they ate synapses from mice fed a regular diet—suggesting the high-fat diet is doing something to those synapses that gives the microglia a reason to eat them at a higher rate, Butler said.

“When we talk about the pruning, or refinement, that needs to occur, it’s like Goldilocks: It needs to be optimal—not too much and not too little,” Barrientos said. “With these microglia eating away too much too soon, it outpaces the ability for these spines to regrow and create new connections, so memories don’t solidify or become stable.”

From here, the researchers plan to expand on findings related to synaptic pruning and mitochondria function, and to see how palmitic acid and DHA effects play out in primary brain cells from young versus aged animals.

More information:
Michael J. Butler et al, Dietary fatty acids differentially impact phagocytosis, inflammatory gene expression, and mitochondrial respiration in microglial and neuronal cell models, Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience (2023). DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1227241

Provided by
The Ohio State University


Citation:
Saturated fat may interfere with creating memories in the aged brain (2023, September 27)
retrieved 28 September 2023
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09-saturated-fat-memories-aged-brain.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

See also  Long Covid Linked To Greater Risk For Developing Autoimmune And Autoinflammatory Disorders, Study Shows

Aged Brain creating Fat interfere Memories Saturated
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

Limestone Or Sandstone? Creating A Calming Outdoor Space For Your Wellbeing 

May 3, 2025

Tips For Creating A Calmer Home Environment

February 28, 2025

Creating A Sober Lifestyle Beyond Recovery

February 27, 2025

Rewiring Your Brain for Success: Quick Techniques to Shift Your Mindset Today

October 28, 2024
Add A Comment

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Posts

Apple to Embrace USB-C with iPhone 15

September 5, 2023

Washington Elections Bill ‘More Likely to Cause Insurrection’

May 15, 2023

California mom says she lost her job 10 days after speaking against LGBTQ materials at school board meeting

August 30, 2023

Women’s World Cup: Sweden, the Netherlands and France Make Their Entrances

July 23, 2023
Don't Miss

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

Business May 8, 2025

President Donald Trump announced Thursday the U.S. has reached a trade agreement with the U.K.,…

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025

Top 10 Benefits Of Acupuncture

May 8, 2025

Electric Vehicle Sales Nosedive As GOP Takes Buzzsaw To Biden’s Mandate

May 7, 2025
About
About

This is your World, Tech, Health, Entertainment and Sports website. We provide the latest breaking news straight from the News industry.

We're social. Connect with us:

Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
Categories
  • Business (4,110)
  • Entertainment (4,220)
  • Finance (3,202)
  • Health (1,938)
  • Lifestyle (1,626)
  • Politics (3,084)
  • Sports (4,036)
  • Tech (2,006)
  • Uncategorized (4)
  • World (3,944)
Our Picks

Elon Musk Says China Definitely Interested In International AI Framework

July 13, 2023

Digital Freight Giant Convoy Shutters Its Doors Despite Support from Amazon Founder

October 25, 2023

AOC And Top House Democrats Urge DOJ To Investigate Clarence Thomas

August 12, 2023
Popular Posts

Trump Announces First Post-Tariff Trade Deal

May 8, 2025

100 Funny Father’s Day Quotes for Hilariously Relatable Humor (and Plenty of Love Too)

May 8, 2025

Top 10 Benefits Of Acupuncture

May 8, 2025
© 2025 Patriotnownews.com - All rights reserved.
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.