Nutritional modifiers of aging brain function: use of uridine and other phosphatide precursors to increase formation of brain synapses.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Brain phosphatide synthesis requires three circulating compounds: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), uridine, and choline. Oral administration of these phosphatide precursors to experimental animals increases the levels of phosphatides and synaptic proteins in the brain and per brain cell as well as the numbers of dendritic spines on hippocampal neurons. Arachidonic acid fails to reproduce these effects of DHA. If similar increases occur in human brain, administration of these compounds to patients with diseases that cause loss of brain synapses, such as Alzheimer's disease, could be beneficial.
منابع مشابه
Synaptic proteins and phospholipids are increased in gerbil brain by administering uridine plus docosahexaenoic acid orally.
The synthesis of brain phosphatidylcholine may utilize three circulating precursors: choline; a pyrimidine (e.g., uridine, converted via UTP to brain CTP); and a PUFA (e.g., docosahexaenoic acid); phosphatidylethanolamine may utilize two of these, a pyrimidine and a PUFA. We observe that consuming these precursors can substantially increase membrane phosphatide and synaptic protein levels in ge...
متن کاملOral administration of circulating precursors for membrane phosphatides can promote the synthesis of new brain synapses.
Although cognitive performance in humans and experimental animals can be improved by administering omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the neurochemical mechanisms underlying this effect remain uncertain. In general, nutrients or drugs that modify brain function or behavior do so by affecting synaptic transmission, usually by changing the quantities of particular neurotransmitters pr...
متن کاملSynapse formation is enhanced by oral administration of uridine and DHA, the circulating precursors of brain phosphatides.
OBJECTIVE The loss of cortical and hippocampal synapses is a universal hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and probably underlies its effects on cognition. Synapses are formed from the interaction of neurites projecting from "presynaptic" neurons with dendritic spines projecting from "postsynaptic" neurons. Both of these structures are vulnerable to the toxic effects of nearby amyloid plaques, and...
متن کاملEnhancing Synaptogenesis in Diseases Characterized by Deficiencies in Brain Synapses
milk and infant formulas) actually enters the circulation; the omega-3 fatty acids, as essential nutrients, must be largely or entirely obtained from the diet (Cansev and Wurtman, 2007). Because the enzymes that initiate the conversion of these compounds to PC are unsaturated, the administration of choline increases the synthesis and brain levels of its phosphorylated product phosphocholine; th...
متن کاملConsuming a Diet Enriched with Choline, UMP, and DHA Improves Memory in Rodents when these Compounds Increase Phospholipids
A new treatment tested in laboratory animals increases synaptic membrane and cholinergic neurotransmission. This treatment involves giving three compounds; DHA, a phosphatide precursor; choline, another phosphatide precursor present in the rodents' diets but not varied in this study; and UMP, a precursor of CTP, the rate-limiting compound in Kennedy Cycle production of phosphatides. Their admin...
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عنوان ژورنال:
- Nutrition reviews
دوره 68 Suppl 2 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2010