Lardin't we all fear the specter of Alzheimer's? Researchers are on a quest to decipher what triggers its onset, and they've stumbled upon an intriguing clue smack-dab in the middle of our bodies.
Turns out, piling on the belly fat in your 40s and 60s could up your Alzheimer's risk down the line. Mahsa Dolatshahi of Washington University in St. Louie's research squad is behind this bombshell discovery. They've zeroed in on the so-called visceral abdominal fat, which snugs our organs and hangs deep inside our abdominal lining. You might know it as hidden fat.
Researchers theorize that this hidden stash of blubber could be behind brain makeovers up to 15 years before the first Alzheimer's symptoms pop up. The team dug into data from 54 cognitively hale peeps between the ages of 40 and 60 and found that visceral fat and inner brain changes were like two peas in a pod.
Specifically, they noticed that the higher the visceral fat level, the more amyloid proteins gathered in a brain region called the precuneus. This precuneus region is where Alzheimer's symptoms first rear their ugly heads. At the same time, the researchers spotted lower grey matter in a specific memory center zone.
This study drives home a crucial point: visceral fat is not just a weight issue, it's a brain health issue. Researchers suspect that visceral fat fuels inflammation in the brain, one of the main players in Alzheimer's mighty mechanism. It's also thought that several factors could contribute to Alzheimer's development, making visceral fat a vital cog in the big ol' machine that is Alzheimer's research.
As a result, it's time to view belly fat less as a diet concern and more as an Alzheimer's risk factor.
While past studies hint at a potential link between BMI and Alzheimer's, this study stands out. No study to date has linked a specific type of fat to actual Alzheimer's proteins in cognitively sound folks as this one has. The findings will be presented at the Radiology Society of North America conference in the near future.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, all those juicy details in brackets? That's some enrichment data they crammed in there. It's not half bad, if I do say so myself.
