지구상에는 많은 치매환자들이 고생을 하고 있고, 이를 돌보는 가족들 또한 무척많은 고생을 한다. 선진국일수록, 이들을 보호하는 시설이 비교적 잘 되여 있어, 어려움속에서도 가족들은 생업에 종사할수 있으나, 후진국에서는 가족들이 생계를 이어갈 직장을 버리고 보호에 매달려야 하는 무서운 질병이다.
이러한 무서한 질병치료약은 아직까지는 없어, 많은 과학자들이 연구에 연구를 하고 있어왔으나, 아직까지 이렇타할 획기적인 치료약이 개발됐다는 반가운 소식이 없어 안타까워 하던중에, 반가운 희소식이 전세계에 타전됐다.
코코넛에서 채취한 오일을 가공하여, 기억력 상실로 치매를 앓고있는 많은 사람들에게 치료될수있다는 희망적인 소식이, 캐나다의 Quebec에 있는 연구소에서 발표되여 관심을 모으고 있다.
치매질환은 주로 노인들에게서 많이 발생하는데, 노인들의 뇌는 포도당이라는 영양분이 충분히 전달되여 뇌에 충분한 에너지를 뇌에 공급해줘야하는데, 그렇치 못할 경우, 모든사람들이 진저리치는 치매와 기억력상실로 이어지는것이다.
치매치료전문기관이(A new study published this month in Alzheimer’s & Dementia
), 노인들중에서 경미한 기억력상실로 인한 초기 어려움이 있는 경우, 코코넛에서 추출한 Ketones를 마시면서 이문제를 해결할수있다는 실험결과를 발표한것이다.
이번 연구의 책임 연구관, Sherbrooke 대학의,Stephen Cunnane씨는 설명하기를, "뇌가 작동원리는 마치 하이 브릿을 부착한 자동차의 작동원리와 같다" 라고.
“The energy problem in the brain can be corrected by supplying the ketones to replace the problem with glucose,” he said.
“It was always thought that this energy problem was a consequence of the disease because the cells are starting to die,” Cunnane added. “We showed clearly that that’s not the case, because they’re utilizing this alternative fuel. We’ve shown convincingly, as far as I’m concerned, that ketones definitely help the ageing brain work better.”
For a period of six months, 52 seniors with mild cognitive impairments were given a daily placebo or 30 grams of “medium-chain triglycerides” (MCTs) in the form of a liquid dietary supplement. MCTs enhance the body’s production of ketones.
After a trial period, participants were tested for memory, word recognition and processing speed. Results from brain scans showed that those who took the daily dose of MCTs scored better on all tests.
“Brain regions that are starving, that don’t have enough energy, are now lighting up,” Cunnane said.
With just 52 subjects, the sample size wasn’t designed to assess those issues on a scientific scale, so researchers have launched a study double the size that will specifically address the effects of ketones on brain function.
Cunnane hopes the new study will to lead to the development of a ketone-rich beverage to protect the brain. He is currently partnering with a company to make more concentrated MCT.
But taste could be an issue. Eight participants dropped out of the study because they couldn’t tolerate the drink Cunnane and his team provided.
For 83-year-old Daniel Fricker, who stayed in Cunnane’s study, the beverage wasn’t appetizing.
“If you took milk and put some chalk dust in it, that might be what it would taste like,” he said.
Taste aside, the results are encouraging for researchers because most drugs tested to boost memory function by targeting plaques in the brain have failed.
“Some of the treatments that have not worked in the past might work better if we take care of the energy problem in Alzheimer’s disease at the same time,” said Cunnane.
“Changing the level of plaque in the brain doesn’t seem to have worked but if we try to change the energy level and try to get it back to normal, we have a better chance, we believe, of slowing down the disease,” he added. “Our cognitive results so far definitely lead to that impression.”
The research is also encouraging since MCTs are easily derived from coconut oil and palm kernel oil. MCT is already available in Canada as a food product with few known side effects.
Howard Chertkow, chair in cognitive neurology at Baycrest Health Sciences and the University of Toronto, called the research “very exciting.”
“The possibility that this relatively simple approach, a drink you take several times a day, might be enough to change the disease (is) very exciting and clearly has to be pursued in the future,” he said.
It’s also exciting for Canadian researchers, who Chertkow hopes will receive more funding for their work.
“Canadian research scientists can make a serious contribution in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and we have to hope the government and the funding agencies will increasingly support this sort of research in the coming years,” he said.
Pressing questions remain about Cunnane’s research, according to Chertkow, including whether it will it work in everyone and whether its effects are only temporary.
“There are still more important steps to go, but it is a step in the right direction,” he said.
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A drink derived from coconut oil could one day be used to fight the memory loss.
Stephen Cunnane of the University of Sherbrooke is studying the role of keytones in memory loss.
“It was always thought that this energy problem was a consequence of the disease because the cells are starting to die,” Cunnane added. “We showed clearly that that’s not the case, because they’re utilizing this alternative fuel. We’ve shown convincingly, as far as I’m concerned, that ketones definitely help the ageing brain work better.”
For a period of six months, 52 seniors with mild cognitive impairments were given a daily placebo or 30 grams of “medium-chain triglycerides” (MCTs) in the form of a liquid dietary supplement. MCTs enhance the body’s production of ketones.
After a trial period, participants were tested for memory, word recognition and processing speed. Results from brain scans showed that those who took the daily dose of MCTs scored better on all tests.
“Brain regions that are starving, that don’t have enough energy, are now lighting up,” Cunnane said.
With just 52 subjects, the sample size wasn’t designed to assess those issues on a scientific scale, so researchers have launched a study double the size that will specifically address the effects of ketones on brain function.
Cunnane hopes the new study will to lead to the development of a ketone-rich beverage to protect the brain. He is currently partnering with a company to make more concentrated MCT.
But taste could be an issue. Eight participants dropped out of the study because they couldn’t tolerate the drink Cunnane and his team provided.
For 83-year-old Daniel Fricker, who stayed in Cunnane’s study, the beverage wasn’t appetizing.
“If you took milk and put some chalk dust in it, that might be what it would taste like,” he said.
Taste aside, the results are encouraging for researchers because most drugs tested to boost memory function by targeting plaques in the brain have failed.
“Some of the treatments that have not worked in the past might work better if we take care of the energy problem in Alzheimer’s disease at the same time,” said Cunnane.
“Changing the level of plaque in the brain doesn’t seem to have worked but if we try to change the energy level and try to get it back to normal, we have a better chance, we believe, of slowing down the disease,” he added. “Our cognitive results so far definitely lead to that impression.”
The research is also encouraging since MCTs are easily derived from coconut oil and palm kernel oil. MCT is already available in Canada as a food product with few known side effects.
Howard Chertkow, chair in cognitive neurology at Baycrest Health Sciences and the University of Toronto, called the research “very exciting.”
“The possibility that this relatively simple approach, a drink you take several times a day, might be enough to change the disease (is) very exciting and clearly has to be pursued in the future,” he said.
It’s also exciting for Canadian researchers, who Chertkow hopes will receive more funding for their work.
“Canadian research scientists can make a serious contribution in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease and we have to hope the government and the funding agencies will increasingly support this sort of research in the coming years,” he said.
Pressing questions remain about Cunnane’s research, according to Chertkow, including whether it will it work in everyone and whether its effects are only temporary.
“There are still more important steps to go, but it is a step in the right direction,” he said.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/ketone-drink-may-one-day-fight-alzheimer-s-disease-and-dementia-1.4438354
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