By Nicole Chiu - Contributing Health Journalist

To date, Alzheimer’s disease has no scientifically proven known cure, yet researchers have been working diligently on finding its causes and methods of prevention.

Susanne Akterin from the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, conducted a study as part of her PhD thesis involving lab mice and an unhealthy diet. The mice were genetically modified to mimic the human gene variant of apoE4, which is a commonly known risk factor in developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The gene is found in 15 to 20 percent of humans, and although other factors towards developing Alzheimer’s disease have yet to be confirmed, this gene has been found in past research to be one of the most common factors of risk.

Lifestyle factors, however, are also contributing factors towards the risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

What Akterin’s research has since revealed is that junk food may be a contributing risk factor, as the mice which she fed for nine months on a high fat, sugar and cholesterol diet all developed chemical changes in their brains similar to the chemical changes found in an Alzheimer brain.

This chemical change was an increase in phosphate groups attached to tau, which is a substance found in Alzheimer’s patients’ brains that forms the neurofibrillary tangles. The tangles prevent normal cell function, and eventually leads to death.

Akterin’s study also found that cholesterol led to a decrease in the substance Arc, which is a protein associated with memory storage.

“We now suspect that a high intake of fat and cholesterol in combination with genetic factors, such as apoE4, can adversely affect several brain substances, which can be a contributory factor in the development of Alzheimer’s,” said Susanne Akterin.

The study has supported previously researched evidence that diet and nutritional factors do contribute towards Alzheimer’s development, as previous research showed low intakes of dietary antioxidants would increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. The past research found that without dietary intakes of antioxidants, the brain experiences a phenomenon known as ‘oxidative stress’.

Akterin’s study also revealed that two antioxidants are dysfunctional in an Alzheimer brain, which may lead to nerve cell death.

“All in all, the results give some indication of how Alzheimer’s can be prevented, but more research in this field needs to be done before proper advice can be passed on to the general public,” said Akterin.