Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
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

UFS honours young researchers
2006-02-10

Some of the guests attending the recognition function were from the left:  Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector:  Academic Planning at the UFS), Mr Joseph Smiles (lecturer at the UFS Department of Political Science and Thuthuka grant holder), Prof Frans Swanepoel (Director:  Research Development at the UFS) and Dr Carlien Pohl (lecturer at the UFS Department of Microbial,  Biochemical and Food Biotechnology and Thuthuka grant holder).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The guest speaker was Prof Jonathan Jansen, Dean:  Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria (UP).  He gave tips to young and promising researchers on how to be an outstanding scholar. 
What is a Scholar 

UFS honours young researchers       

The University of the Free State (UFS) last night honoured 24 young researchers who are taking part in the National Research Fund’s (NRF) Thuthuka programme.

The recognition function is the first of its kind at the UFS.  “The renewed focus on research development that was recently announced at the official opening of the UFS by the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie, is an indication of the institution’s endeavour to create an environment in which research can be improved and flourish.  This can only be obtained when researchers are being valued and that is why it is important to honour our young researchers,” said Mrs Annelize Venter, researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate and coordinator of the programme.
 
The focus on research was also touched on recently by President Thabo Mbeki during the opening of Parliament when he said:  “We will continue to engage the leadership of our tertiary institutions focused on working with them to meet the nation’s expectations with regard to teaching and research. For its part, the government is determined to increase the resource allocation for research and development and innovation, and increase the pool of young researchers."

According to Mrs Venter, research done in 2004 shows that the majority researchers who publish are white males above the age of 50.  “Many students who undertake magister studies choose not to conduct research, but rather to do a thesis and additional subjects.  This means that research is not stimulated.  Students also find it difficult to obtain financial support for postgraduate studies,” she explained.
“Thutuka is a capacity building programme of the NRF that is aimed to 
fund and support the qualifications of women and young black scientists and other researchers who do not have a rating for postgraduate research.  It is based on a funding partnership between the UFS and the NRF,” said Mrs Venter.

Last night Prof Frans Swanepoel, Director: Research Development at the UFS, added to his by saying:  “With the Thuthuka programme we aim to create and sustain a research culture at the UFS, promote international research and train researchers of a high quality and enhance the research capacity at the UFS by focusing on women, black researchers and other promising researchers.”
 
The programme was started by the NRF in 2001.  At that stage only 17 grants were made countrywide.  Last year 370 postgraduate students took part in the programme.

According to Mrs Venter the programme was implemented at the UFS in 2003.  “At that stage we only had 5 grant holders.  This year there are 24 Ph D and magister students on the programme,” she said. 

A couple of young promising researchers, who will be participating in the programme in 2007, also attended last night’s recognition function.

The guest speaker was Prof Jonathan Jansen, Dean:  Faculty of Education at the University of Pretoria (UP).  He gave tips to young and promising researchers on how to be an outstanding scholar.

Nine professors were also congratulated with their promotion to senior research professor, namely Proff Louise Cilliers (Department of English and Classical Languages), James du Preez (Department of Microbial,  Biochemical and Food Biotechnology), Johan Grobbelaar (Department of Plant Sciences), Dingie Janse van Rensburg (Centre for Health Systems Research and Development), Dap Louw (Department of Psychology), Philip Nel (Department of Afro-asiatic Studies and Language Practice and Sign Language), Louis Scott (Department of Plant Sciences), Dirk van den Berg (Department of History of Art) and  Andries Raath (Department of Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law).

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
10 February 2006

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept