Poor cognitive ageing and nutrition

A paper co-authored by Jon Day has been published in the journal Ageing Research Reviews. The review aims to summarise the current state of knowledge of vulnerabilities that predispose towards dysfunctional brain ageing, highlight potential protective mechanisms, and discuss dietary interventions that may be used as therapies. A special focus of this paper is on the impact of nutrition on neuroprotection and the underlying molecular mechanisms.

The paper is written by a working group of experts who presented at 2nd workshop ‘Nutrition for the Ageing Brain: Functional Aspects and Mechanisms’ in Copenhagen in June 2016. The present review is the most recent in a series produced by the Nutrition and Mental Performance Task Force under the auspice of the International Life Sciences Institute Europe (ILSI Europe).

 

Highlights

• Cognitive decline is linked with obesity, stress, gut microbiome and epigenetics.
• Putative mechanisms involve neurogenesis, protein clearance, miRNAs and cellular stress.
• Cognitive decline can be attenuated by appropriate nutrition and dietary interventions.
• Longitudinal research should control for early-life effects and impacts at older age.

 

Download the paper here.