Cocoa flavonols restore age-related memory impairment
As many people age, there is a gradual decline in cognitive function, including the ability to learn and memorize everyday information. This process begins in early adulthood, but does not have a significant impact on the quality of life until the age of 50-60. Age-related memory impairment differs from serious disorders caused by Alzheimer's disease, in which the pathological process damages and destroys neurons in various regions of the brain, including those responsible for memory.
Earlier studies have shown that, unlike memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease associated with damage to the entorhinal cortex, normally age–related memory impairment is associated with changes in the dentate gyrus - a region of the brain that is part of the hippocampus. However, until now, the data obtained in studies involving humans have indicated the existence of a correlation, but not a causal relationship.
Yellow is the region of the brain known as the hippocampus. The dentate gyrus, whose changes are associated with age–related memory impairment, is colored green, and the entorhinal region of the cortex, affected in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, is purple.To find out whether changes in the dentate gyrus are the cause of age-related memory loss in humans, researchers at Columbia University in New York, working under the guidance of Professor Scott A. Small, tested the hypothesis that the flavonoids contained in cocoa are able to improve memory by improving the functioning of the dentate gyrus.
This hypothesis arose based on the results of a study in which the ability of flavonoids isolated from cocoa beans to strengthen neural contacts in the dentate gyrus of mice was demonstrated.
As part of the study, 37 healthy volunteers aged 50-69 years were randomly divided into two groups. For three months, one group followed a diet with a high content of flavonoids (900 mg per day), and the second group followed a diet with a low content of flavonoids (10 mg per day). As a source of flavonols, a drink specially prepared from cocoa beans was used (traditional methods of processing this raw material lead to the loss of a significant part of flavonols).
Before and after the study, each of the participants was tested for the state of memory and functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain. Tomography assessed the volume of blood flow in the dentate gyrus, which is considered an indicator of metabolic activity. The analysis of the state of memory included a 20-minute pattern recognition exercise, which allows selectively assessing the quality of the type of memory for which the dentate gyrus is responsible.
The results showed that the flavonol-enriched diet significantly improved the results obtained when performing memory tests. If at the beginning of the study the participant's memory corresponded to the age of 60, after three months it improved to the indicators of a 30-40-year-old person. However, the authors note that the results obtained need to be confirmed in a larger study, which they plan to do in the near future.
They also note that the dietary supplement used in the study had a positive effect on the state of the cardiovascular system, however, they warn that it differs in composition from chocolate, an increase in the use of which cannot provide the demonstrated effect.
This supplement was used by British scientists from New York or another, science in our person is unknown - VM.
In addition to cocoa beans, flavonols are contained in tea leaves, as well as some fruits and vegetables, but their concentration and composition can vary widely.
Article by Adam M Brickman et al. Enhancing dentate gyrus function with dietary flavanols improves cognition in older adults is published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Columbia University Medical Center:
Dietary Flavanols Reverse Age-Related Memory Decline.
27.10.2014