If a way is found in those with Alzheimer’s disease for the brain to bypass the need to use glucose as fuel, and instead use an alternative source of energy — ketones, for instance — this may then form the basis of a treatment for the disease, said Madhav Thambisetty, associate professor at the National Institute of Aging/ National Institutes of Health, U.S.A.
Dr. Thambisetty was delivering the 15th M.V. Arunachalam Endowment Lecture on Saturday on ‘Alzheimer’s Disease: From Mechanisms to Medicines’. He said studies that had focussed on one of the risk factors of Alzheimer’s — diabetes — had found that certain areas of the brain of patients with Alzheimer’s were not able to effectively take in glucose from the blood to use it as a fuel source. However, the study showed that glucose was not linked to the key pathological findings of Alzheimer’s. It showed that glycolysis — or the breaking down of glucose into energy — was not effective in these parts of the brain, leading to a higher concentration of glucose in the brain cells.
Questions from the enthusiastic audience of medical professionals and others included queries on the benefits of extra virgin coconut oil and alcohol. On coconut oil, Dr. Thambisetty said it offered a promising line of research and said red wine in moderation was known to offer some protection to the brain.
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The event, organised by Neurokrish and Trimed with the Vellayan Chettiar Trust, also saw the participation of the founder of ‘Neurokrish’ E.S. Krishnamoorthy and A. Vellayan, executive chairman, Murugappa Group.