Stopping inflammation may check memory loss in Down syndrome

Keto diet can induce flu-like symptoms

Tasmania, March 14: A ketogenic diet can lead to several flu-like symptoms within the first few weeks on the eating plan, according to a new study.

In the research which got published in Frontiers in Nutrition, the experts analyzed the symptoms reported by keto dieters on social media. These reports reveal common but yet unknown symptoms, such as flu fatigue, nausea, dizziness, decreased energy, feeling faint and heartbeat alterations. The online testimonies also mention that these symptoms peak in the first 7 days and dwindle after four weeks and range in severity.

“The experiences of symptoms by many people strengthens the evidence for side-effects following the initiation of a ketogenic diet,” says Dr Emmanuelle Bostock of the Menzies Institute for Medical Research of the University of Tasmania, in Australia.

“These consumers have the most immediate experience of effects and side-effects and many choose to report and share these in online forums,” Bostock added.

The effectiveness of the keto diet has only been established for intractable epilepsy, but despite this, a ketogenic diet is often self-administered for weight loss, cognitive and memory enhancement, type II diabetes or cancer.

A commonly discussed side effect of this diet is the so-called “keto flu”, a cluster of transient symptoms such as flu, fatigue, nausea, feeling faint and heartbeat alterations. — ANI

Washington, March 14: In a breakthrough study, researchers have discovered the therapeutic potential for a class of lipids to prevent progressive memory loss in a preclinical model of Down syndrome.

Individuals with Down syndrome are at a much greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, with inflammation of the brain starting early in life and the risk of Alzheimer’s reaching nearly 80 per cent by the age of 60.

The root cause Alzheimer’s disease unknown.

However, its frequency in patients with Down syndrome suggests that targeting inflammation in preclinical models of that syndrome could be an attractive strategy for designing therapies to promote healthier ageing. of is

In one such preclinical model of Down syndrome, administering specialized lipids, known as resolvins, reduced inflammation and prevented memory loss, according to a recent article in Glia.

The findings were reported by researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the Center for Alzheimer’s Research at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the Knoebel

Institute for Healthy Aging at the University of Denver.

According to lead author Eric D. Hamlett, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at MUSC, “We have an ancient pathway that helps us return our damaged bodies to normal, which is known as the resolution response. In our model, we can now engage this response with the specialized lipids and, in a more natural way, calm down long-term inflammation.”

While the Down syndrome model does not produce the same brain 'tangles' that normally would be observed with Alzheimer’s disease, constant brain inflammation begins early in life and leads to similar neuronal damage. — ANI