The secret to protecting memory may lie in a staple of a bodybuilder's diet. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center (United States) have shown that a bodybuilding supplement called beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, also called HMB, can help protect memory, reduce plaques and ultimately help prevent progression of Alzheimer's disease.
HMB is not a prescription drug or steroid, but an over-the-counter supplement available at sports and fitness stores. Bodybuilders routinely use HMB to increase exercise-induced muscle size and strength while enhancing performance. HMB is considered safe even after prolonged use, with no known side effects.
"This may be one of the safest and simplest approaches to stop the progression of the disease and protect the memory of Alzheimer's patients," explained Kalipada Pahan, one of those responsible for this research, which has been published in the journal scientific 'Cell Reports'.
Studies in mice with Alzheimer's disease have shown that HMB successfully reduces plaques and increases neuronal growth factors to protect learning and memory.
Previous studies indicate that a family of proteins known as neurotrophic factors is dramatically decreased in the brains of people with Alzheimer's and have been found to help the survival and function of neurons, which are cells that receive and send messages from the body to the brain. and vice versa.
This new study has shown that, after oral consumption, HMB penetrates the brain to increase these beneficial proteins, restore neural connections and improve memory and learning in mice with Alzheimer's-like pathology, such as plaques and tangles.
The results of the study indicate that HMB stimulates a nuclear hormone receptor in the brain called PPARa that regulates fatty acid transport, which is key to the success of HMB as a neuroprotective supplement.
"If the results obtained in mice with HMB are reproduced in Alzheimer's patients, this would open up a promising avenue for the treatment of this devastating neurodegenerative disease," Pahan detailed.
