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Immune response may cause damage

Immune response may cause damage

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A compact cadaver research discovered that immune response to COVID-19 an infection could direct to harm to blood vessels in the mind. LuisPortugal/Getty Photographs
  • Preceding analysis backlinks COVID-19 infection to brain issues, this kind of as “brain fog” and neurological challenges.
  • In a really compact cadaver research, scientists from the Countrywide Institutes of Overall health located that antibodies developed by the physique in reaction to COVID-19 an infection can induce hurt to blood vessels in the mind, causing neurological indications.
  • Experts feel the discovery of antibody-driven immune complexes on endothelial cells in the mind suggests immune-modulating therapies may perhaps assist long COVID sufferers.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, clinicians are finding out additional about the extended-phrase effects of the condition on a person’s general overall health. Some coronavirus clients continue on to truly feel the results of the situation months after preliminary an infection, dealing with long COVID.

The Countrywide Institutes of Well being (NIH) not long ago declared new conclusions that could have relevance to our comprehension of long-expression COVID effects. Their new research states the body’s immune response to an infection from COVID-19 damages blood vessels in the brain, causing neurological symptoms.

The study was just lately printed in the journal Brain.

The new review is not the initially time investigation has appeared at the effects of COVID-19 on the mind. A prior analyze located prior COVID-19 an infection was related with different brain adjustments, which includes a bigger reduction in international mind quantity. And other investigation confirmed getting COVID-19 may well lessen a person’s gray make any difference quantity in the brain.

Scientists have also linked COVID-19 with neurological and mental well being problems and mind complications like stroke and mind hemorrhage.

Past research also shows the coronavirus continues to impression the brain in people going through prolonged COVID signs, this sort of as “mind fog” and other brain modifications.

Health care Information Today spoke with Dr. Avindra Nath, medical director at the Nationwide Institute of Neurological Conditions and Stroke (NINDS) at the Countrywide Institutes of Well being (NIH) and the present study’s senior writer.

In accordance to Dr. Nath, an previously review discovered evidence of blood vessel harm in the brains of COVID-19 sufferers who died shortly after contracting the virus, but no signals of SARS-CoV-2 infections.

“This analyze was carried out to check out how COVID-19 harms the brain’s blood vessels,” Dr. Nath said.

For this analyze, Dr. Nath and his exploration team examined the brain tissue of nine COVID-19 clients who died instantly following contracting the sickness. The experts observed evidence that antibodies developed by the body in reaction to COVID-19 an infection attacked the brain’s blood vessels, resulting in irritation and injury.

“Our results suggest that the harm to the brain’s blood vessels results from the body’s organic inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2,” Dr. Nath spelled out. “For the initially time, we noticed deposits of immune complexes — molecules shaped when antibodies bind antigens — on the surface area of cells that make up the blood-brain barrier.”

“We hypothesize that an antibody-mediated assault brought on by the virus damages the blood-mind barrier, causing blood to leak from blood vessels in the mind,” he continued. “This, in convert, triggers irritation that damages and destroys neurons.”

Why would these antibodies attack the lining of the blood vessels? Dr. Naths claims they do not still know. “One chance may be that they are focused from the ACE2 receptor of the virus, which is remarkably expressed in these cells,” he mentioned.

Although the examine only appeared at neurovascular damage in fatal cases of COVID-19, Dr. Nath said his team suspects that experienced these individuals lived, they would have experienced neurological symptoms of extensive COVID, together with complications, memory impairment, and brain fog.

“Those with long COVID might have a comparable immune reaction that lingers and damages neurons,” he extra. “The discovery of immune complexes on endothelial cells implies that immune-modulating therapies might aid.”

As for the up coming steps to this investigate, Dr. Nath mentioned the pathology of prolonged COVID even now requires finding out.

“It’s very challenging to study the brain improvements driving lengthy COVID with no accessibility to brain tissue at autopsy, but extensive COVID is not a lethal disease,” he discussed. “Therefore, we have to investigate other ways to deciphering the causes of prolonged COVID. Significant-resolution MRI scans may offer perception into the neurological indications skilled by people with extensive COVID.”

Dr. Santosh Kesari, a neurologist at Providence Saint John’s Health and fitness Heart in Santa Monica, CA, and regional clinical director for the Analysis Clinical Institute of Providence Southern California agreed much more study is demanded surrounding extended COVID and its outcomes on the mind.

“We stress about the lungs and the injury that COVID leads to to lungs, but COVID is essentially creating irritation and organ dysfunction in other places in the human body that is unappreciated,” Dr. Kesari told MNT.

“This report and many others like this considering that the pandemic exhibit that there also is a immediate personal injury in the mind. That has implications for therapy approaches when we see these brain problems in our clients acutely, but also now chronically. Some long COVID patients may perhaps be having symptoms — small-phrase memory reduction, brain fog, etc. — simply because of some swelling that transpired in the mind of these individuals, irrespective of whether we understood it early on or not,” Dr. Kesari explained.

“And the question really is how can we have an understanding of that superior?” Dr. Kesari added. “We genuinely want to study it a ton additional and comprehend the timing of COVID infection, the severity of the first an infection, and how that relates to mind irritation, and the severity and duration of cognitive challenges that come about in extensive COVID individuals.”

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More cases of unusual liver damage reported in the U.S.

More cases of unusual liver damage reported in the U.S.

Doctors at Cincinnati Kid’s Hospital in Ohio say they have dealt with at least six scenarios of severe hepatitis in formerly healthier younger youngsters aged 18 months by means of 10 a long time. A single necessary a liver transplant.

These circumstances incorporate to a rising variety of puzzling reviews of youthful little ones globally who are producing acute hepatitis devoid of a recognised result in.

Dr. Jorge Bezerra, director of the Pediatric Liver Care Heart at Cincinnati Children’s Clinic, stated that his workforce has seen an increasing selection of this sort of clients considering the fact that December.

“We have witnessed six,” Bezerra instructed NBC Information Wednesday. “Currently, we’re going to be viewing a seventh patient,” he claimed. “They’re however coming.” The children dealt with for the liver disorder at Cincinnati Kid’s are all from Ohio.

No just one has been in a position to figure out why these kids are building hepatitis, which just means swelling of the liver.

“There is certainly no hyperlink to 1 geographic region, widespread publicity to particular foods or animals, vacation or to contaminants,” Dr. Philippa Easterbrook, an infectious condition doctor with the Entire world Health and fitness Group, claimed throughout a media briefing Wednesday.

At the very least 228 this sort of conditions have been described in 20 countries, she stated. Ten percent of the kids have required liver transplants.

The regular suspects, hepatitis viruses A through E, have been dominated out. Youngsters are not displaying up with proof of Covid-19, and most are much too young to have acquired the Covid vaccines.

A lot of but not all the kids have analyzed beneficial for an adenovirus.

Adenoviruses can cause a selection of symptoms — from the sniffles to diarrhea — and, in uncommon conditions, hepatitis. These intense cases are usually found in little ones with fundamental health and fitness troubles or immune deficiencies, Bezerra mentioned.

But the kids addressed at Cincinnati Children’s are in any other case healthful.

“We are all putting our heads together to attempt to comprehend what is likely on,” Bezerra stated.

When did hepatitis scenarios start off?

At minimum nine other states have suspected scenarios: Alabama, Delaware, Ga, Illinois, Louisiana, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Officials in Wisconsin are investigating the loss of life of one little one.

Scenarios started popping up in Alabama past October. Bezerra stated his workforce in Ohio is now examining instances that may have introduced as early as June 2021.

“I believe I’m obtaining that the quantity of clients is going to exceed 10,” he stated.

Bezerra sees about 10 this kind of people in a regular calendar year. “To have 7 to 10 in the very first quarter of the calendar year is higher than standard.”

In April, the Facilities for Illness Control and Prevention issued a wellbeing notify so medical professionals nationwide could be on the lookout for this kind of abnormal situations of pediatric hepatitis.

Other than liver transplant in extreme situations, there is no specific cure for impacted youngsters. They ordinarily will need to be monitored and supported with correct hydration and nourishment to give their liver time to mend.

What are indicators of hepatitis?

Physicians say that people frequently have vomiting, as very well as delicate abdominal ache, diarrhea, fever and nasal congestion.

People indicators, nevertheless, are quite prevalent in youthful children who routinely produce stomach bugs.

But Bezerra mentioned that if individuals indications last extended than a number of days and are accompanied by yellowing of the skin and eyes, it can be time to call the medical doctor.

“The most vital factor is, if there is an onset of jaundice, or yellow discoloration of the eyes,” he mentioned, “seek out healthcare assistance.”

Follow NBC Wellness on Twitter & Facebook.

Erika Edwards is a well being and health-related information writer and reporter for NBC Information and “Now.”

Marina Kopf contributed.

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Nerve damage may arise from immune system dysfunction

Nerve damage may arise from immune system dysfunction

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New exploration sheds light on neuropathies in long COVID, suggesting immune dysfunction may well be to blame for the nerve harm. Image Editing by Steve Kelly Ildar Imashev/Getty Pictures
  • In a lately published study, scientists investigated the factors powering neuropathic signs or symptoms in very long COVID.
  • They located that neuropathic signs in very long COVID may perhaps occur from immune technique dysfunction.
  • Larger reports can construct on these results to help researchers much better realize the underlying mechanisms.

Much more than fifty percent of the people today who recover from SARS-CoV-2 encounter very long-time period disability, which include psychological overall health situations and pulmonary and neurological issues.

The authors of the existing research note that there is an overlap between extended COVID symptoms and those of modest-fiber polyneuropathy (SFN), which has an effect on the tiny nerve fibers in the pores and skin.

Investigations into the relationship in between very long COVID and neuropathy could assistance clinicians better examine and deal with individuals.

Lately, researchers from Harvard Medical Faculty examined men and women with no prior neuropathy background who made neuropathic problems just after recovering from a SARS-CoV-2 an infection.

They identified that some persons with lengthy COVID have extensive long lasting nerve destruction resulting from infection-triggered immune dysfunction.

“The data will help us improved fully grasp the pathophysiology that might underlie some prolonged COVID signs, which can information treatment options to bring symptomatic aid and validation to individuals,” Dr. Mary Kelley, one of the authors of the review, instructed Health care Information Nowadays.

The authors printed their analyze in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation.

For the analyze, the researchers recruited 17 people with a verified SARS-CoV-2 an infection, no prior historical past of neuropathy, and a neuromuscular referral. The members achieved the standards for getting lengthy COVID, in accordance to the Globe Health Organization’s (WHO’s) definition. Of the contributors, 69{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} ended up feminine, 19{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} were being of Latinx ethnicity, and 94{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} were being white.

The researchers tracked standardized indicators, medical exams, aim neurodiagnostic take a look at effects, and outcomes for each individual participant about an common of 1.4 decades.

As most of the individuals experienced gained symptom-relieving prescription drugs, the scientists examined probable preventive solutions, far too.

Amid the 17 people in the analyze, 16 had gentle COVID-19, while a person was in intensive care with ventilatory assist for a month.

Diagnostic exams for neuropathy disclosed that 62.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of lower leg skin biopsies and 50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of higher thigh biopsies and autonomic operate tests confirmed SFN.

The treatment plans provided IV immunoglobulins (IVIg) — the most important cure for inflammatory neuropathy, with early evidence for managing SFN — and corticosteroids. Most of all those who been given the IVIg therapy perceived improvement in their indications, and the exact same was correct for some of individuals on corticosteroids.

The scientists pointed out that some of the contributors also built a spontaneous restoration. Because of to this, they accept in their paper the want to individualize treatment method selections for patients.

To reveal their results, the researchers generate that one-quarter of human dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons — that is, neurons that connect amongst the peripheral nervous process and the spinal cord — express mRNA that is susceptible to attaching to SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins.

This may well market the formation of antibodies that concentrate on neurons as perfectly as SARS-CoV-2.

The scientists further more clarify that the delayed onset of indicators that happens in extended COVID, together with extended postinfectious courses and evident responses, implies that mechanisms occur from a dysfunctional immune reaction.

“Given the nature and style and design of the smaller nerve fibers, they are significantly vulnerable to destruction by issues like inflammation, health issues, and immunological derangements, usually talking,” claimed Dr. Kelley.

Despite the fact that it seems that there are underlying immune leads to, what lies powering these mechanisms stays unknown.

Michael Lipton, Ph.D., who is a professor of radiology and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Albert Einstein Higher education of Drugs and was not included in the research, advised MNT that thanks to the study’s modest dimensions, it is not probable to realize the fundamental mechanism and causes.

“From what we have discovered about COVID-19 neurological sequelae, most likely mechanisms are relevant to irritation and perhaps autoimmunity. These mechanisms would be steady with the neuropathy identified in this situation series,” he reported.

The scientists conclude that their benefits give a basis for more substantial investigations into neuropathy in all those with extensive COVID.

They also be aware some restrictions to their work, including referral biases and the compact sample measurement. They increase that the original evaluations happened at various instances during the study course of sickness and remedy, whereas longitudinal assessments at standardized intervals are perfect.

Jacqueline Becker, Ph.D., a medical neuropsychologist and assistant professor of drugs at the Icahn Faculty of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York — who was also not concerned in the analyze — shared her views on the exploration with MNT.

“What is notably surprising about the findings from this analyze is that the greater part of sufferers had delicate acute COVID-19, while this may well have been much less astonishing in a cohort with critical acute sickness.”

– Dr. Becker

“Given the compact sample measurement and inherent bias toward referrals for neuropathy in the research, we cannot identify that the neuropathy discovered in these clients was specifically prompted by COVID-19. It does, even so, counsel that there may well be a connection, which will hopefully prompt bigger, prospective investigations,” she described.

​​Dr. Seth Congdon, who is co-director of the COVID-19 Recovery (Core) Clinic at Montefiore Professional medical Middle and was not included in the research, additional that the study still leaves quite a few unknowns that need even more investigation: “[It is] unclear how very best to take care of little fiber neuropathy. It is significant to display for unique conditions that can induce/exacerbate neuropathy, including diabetic issues, vitamin B12 deficiency, thyroid dysfunction, weighty alcoholic beverages use, autoimmune conditions (Sjögren’s, lupus, and so forth.), and address them if observed.”

“The IVIg success are intriguing, but this is a treatment that poses logistical worries. It is limited in availability, usually administered at an infusion heart/clinic, [and] needs pre- and publish-treatment evaluation and checking,” he included.

“Another factor I am doubtful about is if IVIg places clients at chance of obtaining their humoral immunity from prior infection or immunization erased? More investigation, such as preferably a randomized medical demo, is necessary,” he concluded.

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Alzheimer’s and severe COVID-19: Comparing brain damage markers

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Healthcare worker Demetra Ransom comforts a person with COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, Texas, on December 4, 2020. MARK FELIX/Getty Images
  • A study demonstrated that participants hospitalized with COVID-19 experiencing neurological complications had higher levels of blood proteins or biomarkers associated with neurological damage than people with Alzheimer’s.
  • Increased biomarker levels correlated with COVID-19 severity, mortality risk, and the presence of neurological disorder.
  • Long-term follow-up is necessary to determine if biomarker elevation is associated with an increased risk of developing subsequent neurodegenerative disorders.

COVID-19, the disease that a SARS-CoV-2 infection causes, often brings on mild upper respiratory symptoms. However, some individuals may experience severe illness requiring hospitalization. This can occur due to pneumonia and lung damage causing respiratory failure.

In addition, neurological manifestations commonly occur in people hospitalized with COVID-19. Neurological disorders may include encephalopathy, seizures, stroke, encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and acute demyelinating encephalomyelitis.

Researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine conducted a study that investigated whether people with COVID-19 experiencing new-onset neurological complications during hospitalization had elevated blood markers indicating neurological damage.

The investigators published study results in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Dr. Thomas Wisniewski, M.D., a co-author of the study, professor of neurology, pathology, and psychiatry, and director of both the NYU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Center for Cognitive Neurology, spoke about the study in an MNT interview.

He explained: “It’s clear that the [SARS-CoV-2] virus has a propensity for inducing vascular damage, targeting in the endothelial cells, and causing disruption of the blood-brain barrier, as well as inducing generalized neuroinflammation. Cytokines like interleukin 6 and interleukin 1 are much elevated in [individuals with COVID-19], and these are cytokines that drive neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s disease.”

Cytokines are proteins that help the body’s cells to communicate.

Dr. Wisniewski added, “In our study, we became interested in looking at these types of biomarkers, [since these biomarkers] are what we follow in our Alzheimer’s disease research center for looking at the progression of Alzheimer’s-related pathology and other neurodegenerative disorders.”

In an interview with MNT, Jennifer Bramen, Ph.D., a senior research scientist at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, who was not involved in the study, described the seven biomarkers the study measured:

  • Total tau and pTau181 are indicators of neuron damage. Their levels increase as AD progresses. In AD, abnormal proteins form tangles, blocking the communication between brain cells, she explained.
  • Ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCHL1) is an enzyme that breaks down unnecessary proteins in brain cells. Brain injury or neurodegenerative diseases such as AD cause levels of UCHL1 to increase.
  • Increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels indicate damage to the glial cells. Glial cells help maintain the health of brain cells and the blood-brain barrier, which filters toxic substances.
  • Neurofilament light chain (NfL) measures damage to axons of myelinated neurons. The axon is the part of the neuron that conducts electricity, and myelin is the insulation surrounding the neuron.
  • Amyloid-β (Aβ) 40 and 42 are proteins that build up and cause the formation of amyloid plaques in AD, which disrupt brain cell function and communication.
  • Lastly, a person’s pTau181 to Aβ42 ratio may identify early stages of AD.

Investigators also attempted to determine the association of increased biomarkers with rates of discharge to home and in-hospital death rates.

To assess the level of injury, the researchers compared serum biomarker levels of a control group of participants who had “normal” cognition, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD with the biomarkers of people during hospitalization with COVID-19 and new neurological findings.

Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of participants enrolled in the Study of Neurologic and Psychiatric Events in Acute COVID-19 (SNaP Acute COVID study), which examined serum samples people gave during their hospitalization for COVID-19.

Dr. Wisniewski explained, “We specifically excluded patients who have a preexisting cognitive disorder, any sort of dementia, or mild cognitive impairment, [to prevent clouding of the results].”

The SNaP Acute COVID study was a prospective study of 4,491 participants conducted in four New York hospitals between March 10 and May 20 of 2020, which evaluated the development of new neurological events during acute COVID-19 hospitalization.

The non-COVID control group comprised blood samples from the NYU Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center clinical core cohort banked before January 1, 2020. This was the date of the first reported COVID-19 cases in New York City. The researchers used validated testing tools — version three of the Uniform Data Set and the Clinical Dementia Rating — to stratify the control participants into three subgroups: normal cognitive functioning, MCI, and AD.

The study measured blood markers using an ultrasensitive testing methodology called single-molecule array technology.

The COVID-19 group consisted of 251 participants with a median age of 71. This group was 63{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} male. There were 161 participants in the control group with a median age of 71. Participants in the control group were 35{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} male.

The most common neurological complications included toxic metabolic encephalopathy (TME) in 63{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of participants and brain injury due to reduced oxygen or blood flow in 46{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

The severity of COVID-19 correlated most strongly with total tau, pTau181, and NfL levels.

Higher GFAP and pTau181/Aβ-42 levels were associated with a significantly increased risk of death during hospitalization. Results showed that elevated levels of total tau, NfL, and GFAP corresponded to decreased discharge-to-home rates.

Those participants with COVID-19 who experienced new neurological events during hospitalization had significantly higher total tau, pTau181, NfL, and UCHL1, with the highest levels occurring in those with TME. The participants with COVID-19 had a 179{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} percent higher NfL, 73{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} higher GFAP, and 13{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} higher UCHL1 level than the AD group.

Dr. Wisniewski commented:

“In the study, we found very marked elevations of these seven biomarkers, indicating [the] significant presence of neurodegeneration, neuronal death, and gliosis. With marked neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation, and — at least at one time point — elevation of Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, each […] correlated with the presence of neurological disease and the severity of infection as well as the outcome.”

Dr. Braman stated: “One limitation is that [the study] is only looking at hospitalized patients, so it’s still not clear if these biomarkers might be present in patients with less severe COVID-19 symptoms. Future research would be [needed] to understand how long lasting these effects are and how much they link up with actual cognitive deficits.”

Dr. Wisniewski agreed:

“We have been following these patients for 6 months and one year […] and there was the persistence of cognitive dysfunction [in up to 50{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of these folks]. Hence, it’s important to follow this up. [P]erhaps biomarker findings speak of an increased risk of subsequent neurodegenerative disorders in this population.”

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Can omega-3 help undo memory damage from processed foods?

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A recent animal study looks at the effect of processed foods on memory and asks whether omega-3 might reverse the deficit. Elena Popova/Getty Images
  • Researchers investigated the effects of a diet high in processed foods on rats’ memory and whether omega-3 supplementation could stave off negative effects.
  • They found that omega-3 supplementation reduced some, but not all, neuroinflammatory markers.
  • The researchers note that their results do not mean that omega-3 supplements offset the negative health effects of processed foods and that people should ensure they consume adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates to improve their health.

Carbohydrates are an essential source of energy for the body. There are two groups of carbohydrates: simple and complex.

Complex carbohydrates take longer to digest and have many nutritional benefits that help regulate blood sugar levels.

By contrast, refined carbohydrates take less time to digest, have fewer nutritional benefits, and can increase blood sugar levels and increase the risk of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Health experts also link diets containing high levels of refined carbohydrates to learning and memory difficulties, as well as weight gain in rodents, primates, and humans.

Previous research has shown that aged, but not young, rats eating a short-term high fat diet had impaired memory and increased levels of inflammation in various parts of the brain. The researchers found, however, that a dietary intervention can reduce this.

Other research has observed that an omega-3 called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can reduce inflammation in the brain relating to traumatic brain injury, stroke, and age-related cognitive decline.

Scientists do not know whether DHA protects against carbohydrate-related effects on cognition and neuroinflammation.

Little is also known on how a diet high in processed foods with high levels of refined carbohydrates and saturated fats and a lack of fiber affects the aging brain.

Recently, researchers from Ohio State University (OSU) and Inotiv Inc. conducted a study to understand the mechanisms behind the neurologic effects of processed diets and whether omega-3 supplementation could improve these effects.

They found that processed food diets impaired memory function among aged, but not young, rats and that this occurred alongside increased signs of inflammation. Omega-3 supplementation, however, improved these effects.

When asked whether these results were surprising, Dr. Ruth Barrientos, Ph.D., lead author of this research and associate professor at OSU, told Medical News Today:

“Yes, many studies, including our own, have focused on high fat and high sugar diets being detrimental to memory function, but few have examined the short-term effects of a highly processed diet. Given that many processed diets are low in fat, we had our doubts that we’d see any significant results. Not only did we observe very significant memory impairments, [but] we also saw significant weight gain with this diet.”

MNT also spoke with Dr. Andile Khathi, academic leader of Human Body and Function at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, who was not involved in the present study. He said,

“I think we’ve known for a while that prolonged consumption of highly processed foods can be detrimental to the body, but this study shows just how bad this can be for the brains of [older adults].”

“Other studies have shown how beneficial omega-3 can be, but this study has gone a step further to show how its consumption can be good for mental health,” he added.

The research appears in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

The researchers obtained 3- and 24-month old rats for the research. As female rats were not available in the older age category at the time of the study, the researchers exclusively used male rats.

At the beginning of the research, the younger rats weighed around 300 grams (g) on average, whereas the older rats weighed around 550 g.

The rats were housed two to a cage and randomly assigned to continue eating either a regular diet including 54{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} complex carbohydrates, a processed food diet including 63.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} refined carbohydrates, or a processed food diet and DHA supplements for 28 days.

After this period, the scientists placed the rats separately in a conditioning chamber, where the rats heard a tone for 15 seconds and then received a 2-second footshock. Four days later, the scientists reintroduced the rats to the cage and the sound to assess their fear response.

While there were no differences in freezing behavior between the different groups of rats during the conditioning phase, the researchers observed that older rats exclusively fed a processed diet froze significantly less in both fear experiments than older animals on other diet plans.

The researchers also found that both groups of rats that ate a processed food diet experienced weight gain similar to that of the rats on the alternative diet. Moreover, older animals were more affected than younger ones.

After these experiments, the researchers isolated different areas of the rats’ brains to analyze their RNA.

These analyses revealed that the rats that ate a processed food diet alone had significantly higher inflammatory gene expression than those that consumed the alternative diet, or a processed food diet with DHA supplementation.

The authors found, however, that DHA supplementation did not impact all genes that the study investigated.

According to the researchers, this means that DHA supplements do not necessarily offset the negative effects of highly refined foods and that people should focus on overall diet improvement by increasing complex carbohydrate and fiber intake.

“Processed and refined foods are unfamiliar to our gut microbiome, which has evolved over thousands of years, so these foods can provoke an inflammatory immune response, almost as if the processed food was a pathogen,” Dr. Barrientos explained.

“This peripheral immune response can easily trigger inflammation in the brain, and due to some brain immune cells in the aging brain being sensitized, this neuroinflammation can become exaggerated. Exaggerated neuroinflammation in turn is known to impair various memory-forming and maintenance mechanisms,” she added.

“The omega-3 fatty acid DHA and its metabolites are known to resolve inflammation, and we believe that explains the protective effects.”

– Dr. Ruth Barrientos

“Many studies have shown how the chronic consumption of refined carbohydrates and saturated fats can lead to various metabolic aberrations underpinned by inflammation,” Dr. Khathi explained. “The hippocampus, which is responsible for memory, is quite sensitive to metabolic changes, especially in [older adults].”

“This could explain why the consumption of these highly processed foods has such negative effects on memory. The consumption of unsaturated/polyunsaturated fats has been found to be good for various parts of the body, so it stands to reason that it could be good for the protection of brain structures such as the hippocampus,” he added.

The researchers conclude that a processed food diet with refined carbohydrates impairs cognitive function, increases neuroinflammatory gene expression, and increases weight gain in aged rats. They also found that DHA supplementation can reduce this effect.

One limitation of the study is that the researchers do not know exactly how much food each rat ate, as the rats were housed two to a cage.

“While intriguing, this research needs to be replicated in humans to determine if the same effect is seen,” Dr. Claire Sexton, D.Phil., director of Scientific Programs and Outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association, who was not involved in the study, told MNT. She continued,

“To date, there isn’t a single food, ingredient, or supplement that — through rigorous scientific research — has been shown to prevent, treat, or cure Alzheimer’s or other dementia in humans.”

Dr. Sara Imarisio, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, who was not involved in the study, also spoke with MNT. She said, “What is not clear from the study is whether DHA could have similar effects in people or whether it acts against biological mechanisms that cause dementia.”

“A small number of studies have specifically linked omega-3 to better heart health and circulation, but research has so far not conclusively shown that taking omega-3 can reduce memory and thinking problems.”

Dr. Imarisio continued, “This early stage study can’t tell us whether DHA may have an impact on diseases like Alzheimer’s, and further work is needed to explore any possible link.”

In future studies, the researchers aim to examine and define the effects of processed food diets on the gut and to include female rats in their research.