You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks -- With The Right Diet

ScienceDaily: You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks -- With The Right Diet
2007.09.27
"These supplements, acetyl-l-carnitine and alpha lipoic acid, are continuing to be studied in work with humans, and scientists believe they may provide a new approach to the neurodegeneration and cognitive decline common with aging...It found that supplements of these two antioxidant compounds, which are believed to play a role in slowing mitochondrial decay in the cell, significantly increased the ability of “geriatric” beagle dogs to learn a new task...In these tests, the effects of supplementation with these compounds appeared to work fairly quickly, in a matter of days or weeks, the scientists said. Some other studies, however, have required much longer periods of supplementation for various antioxidants to improve cognitive performance...The scientists suggested in the paper that long-term supplementation “may be effective in attenuating age-associated cognitive decline by slowing the rate of mitochondrial decay and cellular aging.” Enhancing the function of mitochondria - which provide almost all of a cell’s energy - could literally be providing animals with more “mental energy,” leading to improved memory and learning, the study indicated. The compounds may also cause increased synthesis of a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine...An increasing body of research suggests that mitochondria may be an “Achilles heel” for absorbing age-related damage, as part of the natural process of oxidation in the body and the related “free radicals” that are produced and can cause cellular damage. As the power plant of cells, mitochondria perform many of the roles critical to cell function, use up to 90 percent of the oxygen humans breathe, but are also among the first cellular components to be damaged by reactive radical oxygen species..."

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