Feeling thirsty? Sip on a glass of OJ
Pour yourself a glass of orange juice rather than reach for the coffee tin next time you are thirsty, as Swedish researchers have discovered Vitamin C can dissolve the toxic protein aggregates that build up in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease.
Pour yourself a glass of orange juice rather than reach for the coffee tin next time you are thirsty, as Swedish researchers have discovered Vitamin C can dissolve the toxic protein aggregates that build up in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease.
The research conducted by Lund University and published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, showed brain tissue from mice suffering from Alzheimer’s was treated using Vitamin C. Researchers claim vitamin C, or L-ascorbic acid, dissolved the toxic protein aggregates that define Alzheimer’s.
The brains of people with Alzheimer’s contain “lumps of amyloid plaques” which consist of protein aggregates. These cause nerve cell death in the brain and the first nerves to be attacked are the ones in the brain’s memory centre.
“Our results show a previously unknown model for how Vitamin C affects the amyloid plaques,” lead researcher, Katrin Mani, said.
Ms Mani said another “interesting” finding was the useful Vitamin C does not need to come from fresh fruit.
“In our experiments, we show the Vitamin C can also be absorbed in larger quantities in the form of dehydroascorbic acid from juice that has been kept overnight in a refrigerator, for example,” Ms Mani said.
However, the protective antioxidant effects of Vitamin C for a variety of illnesses, ranging from the common cold to heart attacks and dementia, have been debated by researchers for decades.
“The notion that Vitamin C can have a positive effect on Alzheimer’s disease is controversial, but our results open up new opportunities for research into Alzheimer’s and the possibilities offered by vitamin C,” Ms Mani claimed.
While no cure for Alzheimer’s disease yet exists, researchers indicated the findings of this latest study were aimed at developing treatments and methods to delay and alleviate the progression of the disease by addressing the symptoms.
