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04 August 2023 | Story The Conversation | Photo supplied
Claudia Ntsapi
Dr Claudia Ntsapi, Basic Medical Sciences Lecturer at the University of the Free State.

Opinion article by , Basic Medical Sciences Lecturer


As the world population has grown older, Alzheimer’s disease has become increasingly common. Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia. Dementia is a term used to describe a range of symptoms linked to the decline in brain function with age. Symptoms include memory loss, communication difficulties, problem-solving struggles, and personality or behavioural changes.

Alzheimer’s disease is an increasingly urgent global issue. The World Health Organization predicts that the number of people with the condition will triple by 2050.

Despite this growing problem, Alzheimer’s disease remains a relatively understudied condition. This is particularly the case in sub-Saharan countries such as South Africa. One major challenge is that Alzheimer’s is a complex condition with no known cure. However, researchers have identified several key risk factors associated with the disease. These include age, genetics, lifestyle factors and underlying medical conditions.

In recent years, one of the most promising areas of research on age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, has been the accumulation of harmful proteins in the brain. Specifically amyloid-ß. Amyloid-ß has remained a prominent area of research in Alzheimer’s disease as its build-up is a classic feature in the development of the condition. Understanding its involvement in the disease process is crucial for advancing our knowledge and developing effective strategies to diagnose, prevent and treat the disease.

The accumulation of amyloid-ß can lead to the formation of plaques. These plaques can interfere with communication between brain cells. This ultimately contributes to cognitive decline and other symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Amyloid-ß is a large membrane protein that is essential in neural growth and repair. But its corrupted form in later life can destroy nerve cells. This triggers the loss of thought and memory that is associated with Alzheimer’s.

We therefore sought to find out if dietary interventions, particularly intermittent fasting, would counteract the accumulation of amyloid-ß in the brain and potentially safeguard against age-related brain cell death.

In a paper published in 2021, my colleague and I showed that in experiments conducted in mice we found that intermittent fasting counteracted amyloid-ß accumulation in the brain. These findings were further confirmed in a paper published in May of 2022.

Our findings are an important contribution to the search for the potential role of dietary interventions and are consistent with previous studies supporting the idea that intermittent fasting may help counteract amyloid-ß accumulation in the brain and protect against age-related brain cell death. To my knowledge, the most recent study using a variation of intermittent fasting, was published in September 2022. The clinical branch of this study remains ongoing.

Research into the causes of Alzheimer’s has gathered pace in recent years with new ground being broken on a regular basis as scientists search for treatments.

Our study’s findings suggest that intermittent fasting may be an effective way to increase the efficiency of autophagy – the process that breaks down and recycles damaged or unnecessary cellular components, such as organelles and toxic proteins. This process can therefore reduce the risk of amyloid-ß build-up and associated brain cell death.

These findings are particularly significant because they shed light on the relationship between autophagy and the death of brain cells with age, and the potential therapeutic benefits of interventions that target this process.

How it works

Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that involves regulating food intake by alternating periods of fasting and eating. This dietary regimen comprises periods of restricted food consumption, followed by periods of normal eating.

There are different types of intermittent fasting. One is time-restricted eating, where food is consumed within a specific time window each day. Alternate-day fasting is where food is restricted every other day.

Intermittent fasting has been shown to have various health benefits. Some of the benefits relate to the promotion of brain health.

Our study’s findings suggest that intermittent fasting may be an effective way to increase the efficiency of autophagy, an essential process for removing toxic or misfolded proteins that can build up in cells.

Sometimes autophagy doesn’t work properly to remove harmful proteins or other cellular components from cells. This has been strongly implicated in the development and progression of various age-related diseases, and is a target of research for potential therapies.

What we did

In our study we investigated the effects of intermittent fasting on brain cells in mice, and brain cells isolated from mice with increased amyloid-ß toxicity. Mice cells are frequently used as a model for human cells in scientific research. This is because of the significant genetic similarity between mice and humans. This use of animal models allows researchers to gain valuable insights and test hypotheses. It is generally considered ethically preferable before potentially conducting human studies.

We found that 24 to 48 hours of intermittent fasting by mice provided protection against cell death in specific regions of their brain. We noted increased autophagy levels in cells of fasted mice. Even in the presence of a high amyloid-ß protein load in brain cells, intermittent fasting maintained autophagy activity. And the process remained effective over a 21-day treatment intervention period.

By increasing the efficiency of autophagy, it is possible to maintain the removal of harmful proteins in cells, even as we age.

The findings of this study suggest that interventions such as intermittent fasting could potentially protect against the development of age-related diseases. This has important implications for public health.

Intermittent fasting is a relatively simple dietary intervention: it’s easy to do. It has the potential to be widely adopted as a preventive measure against the onset of age-related diseases. These findings also provide a basis for future research into the mechanisms by which intermittent fasting protects against brain cell death, exploring the potential for additional therapeutic interventions that target autophagy, and examining the effects of different fasting regimens on brain health.The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

News Archive

Publication on indigenous knowledge systems
2005-10-21

 

 

Dr Otsile Ntsoane (acting Director: IKS, Department of Science and Technology) and Prof Philip Nel (Director:  Africa Studies at the UFS and guest editor of the publication) at the launch of the publication

UFS launches most comprehensive publication on indigenous knowledge systems
A unique collection of essays on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) was launched yesterday (20 October 2005) by the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Programme of Africa Studies.

The essays are published as a special edition of INDILINGA, the African Journal for Indigenous Knowledge Systems and is an outcome of the colloquium on Indigenous Knowledge Systems that was presented last year by the UFS Director of Africa Studies in cooperation with the National Research Council.

“The amount and diversity of materials on IKS brought together under one cover is unique as there are no other South African publications of this magnitude on this issue.  It contains papers of international experts on IKS such as Prof Fritz Wallner from Austria and Prof Gayatri Spivak, foremost postcolonial theorist from India,” said Prof Philip Nel, Director of Africa Studies and guest editor of the publication.

“The publication is a rich source field for students and scholars to exploit because most of the sources quoted in the articles are recent, fresh and relevant.  The contributors are largely people responsible for managing, fostering and studying IKS in a responsible manner,” said Prof Nel.

“An added value of the publication is the inclusion of the policy document on IKS that was adopted by Cabinet in November 2004,” said Prof Nel.


“Millions of people in South Africa are faced with the painful choice of abandoning their heritage.  In this choice, the study and management of IKS has a major role to play; on the one hand, to encourage as much assimilation of traditional knowledge as possible into the modern systems, and on the other hand to provide a “language” and a “grammar” for indigenous people through which they can access modernity,” said Prof Nel.

The IKS debate involves questions of African identity, protection of indigenous communities and practices, political aspects as well as the scientific integrity of the enterprise. 

The publication displays the range of burning questions that have to be resolved in this field such as mainstreaming IKS in academic debate and practice, recognition and protection of the knowledge holders, bio-prospecting and bio-piracy, bio and ethnic healing, lack of textbooks and field manuals, etc and will prove worthwhile for future researchers.

 “One of the main reasons for publishing this volume is the fact that IKS should be studied not only to provide a sense of pride in the past, or  to engender respect for indigenous peoples, but also to enable people in indigenous mind sets to make a better transition into the world of science and technology,” said Prof Nel.

The guest speaker at the launch was Dr Otsile Ntsoane, acting Director of IKS at the Department of Science and Technology.  In his speech Dr Ntsoane stressed the symbolic and concrete value of the publication.  “The publication can have a great social impact and the research results can contribute to chancing the economic landscape of South Africa,” he said.

The publication can be purchased at R150 per copy.  For more information, Ms Steffi Cawood, Programme Coordinator for Africa Studies at the UFS can be contacted at (051) 401-2614.

Media release
Issued by:Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
21 October 2005
 

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